Help Me
by FifiDoll
Summary: Sam doesn't remember anything from Rachel's party - especially who got him pregnant. MPREG, KurtSam friendship, lots of confusion on Sam's part. Rated for abuse in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Sam couldn't remember much from that night at Rachel's. He'd gotten crazy, that was for sure, but he was only with Santana…right? When he woke up his whole body ached and all he could think was that he needed to find a bathroom because his stomach _really_ didn't agree with the previous night's activities.

His stomach didn't agree with him in general, if he was totally honest. The bug or whatever he'd caught went away for a while, but after a few weeks it came back with a vengeance. Sam had missed a bunch of school and he couldn't help but feel guilty that he was letting down the glee club every time he missed rehearsal. They had nationals to prepare for!

"Honey, I think we should take you to the doctor," his mom suggested one morning. He'd been sick for three days straight and wasn't feeling any better. "I'm really worried."

Sam felt like crap, so he didn't argue. He trudged out to the car, still in his pajamas, and rode along in silence as she drove. He was drowsy and out of it and had to run off to vomit once, but he was finally in the doctor's office, waiting patiently for the results of his blood test.

A nurse emerged looking distressed and said, "We need to do an ultrasound," and at his mother's confusion, added, "It's standard procedure; we want to make sure there is no swelling anywhere."

That seemed to put his mother at ease, but Sam was still nervous. Weren't ultrasounds for girls? He tried to forget that little detail as he rested back on the table, his stomach exposed to the cool air. Sam cursed his sickness – he could have sworn his stomach was already losing the perfectly sculpted abs he prided himself on. Cool gel was squirted onto his stomach and the ultrasound technician began looking around.

Sam's mother watched, her brow furrowed in worry. The nurse paused on a small little lump and Sam tried not to panic when she stood and ran to the hall to retrieve a doctor. The man walked in and looked around for himself. Sam was ready to fall asleep, but he couldn't when he heard the words, "How is this possible?"

The nurse was looking at the doctor, flabbergasted. "What's going on!" Sam's mother asked, concerned.

"I…I'm going to refer you to a specialist to be sure, but…" the doctor stared at the ultrasound screen in shock as he said, "It appears as though your son is pregnant."

Sam's world seemed to freeze in its place. Apparently that meant he passed out, because when he woke, he was slouched over in the front seat of his mother's car. She was crying and Sam tried to ignore the pounding pain in his head to ask, "Mom?"

"We're not telling your father about this," she told him firmly, sniffling and wiping her tears away. "Not until we see the specialist and make sure."

Sam didn't speak. He still couldn't comprehend how this could have happened. "How?" he asked weakly.

His mother shrugged. "He said it might have been because of something that happened before you were born," she explained. "A lost twin or something. The specialist could tell us for sure."

"When are we seeing him?"

"Tomorrow," she told him as she pulled the car into the driveway. "Now you just go up to bed and rest."

They got out of the car and started walking up to the door as she said sadly, "I didn't even know you were gay, Sam."

Sam didn't have the words to say to that. His brain was melted; he'd taken in too much information that day and _needed_ to rest. When he got to his bed, Sam promptly passed out, effectively staying asleep most of the day. He only woke once when he heard his dad shouting at his mom about doctor's bills. He didn't like spending money, even if it was for his child's health. See, Sam's dad wasn't a very nice man, when it came down to it. He was judgmental and harsh and Sam didn't get along with him much. Most of the time he just wished his mother had the courage to divorce the guy.

Their shouting died down eventually, though, and Sam could fall asleep again. He slept until his mother woke him the next morning, telling him to get ready to see the specialist. They had to drive out to Columbus to see him, but she said it was worth it. Sam just wanted to go so he could learn that it was all just a big prank. It had to be, because dudes _didn't_ get pregnant.

He couldn't be so lucky, though. The specialist took lots of tests and _two_ ultrasounds before confirming that Sam was, in fact, pregnant. "It looks as though before birth you had a twin," he told Sam. "She didn't make it and your bodies morphed to become just yours. It's a very rare situation for a male and female set of twins, but it's possible."

"Wait, what does that even mean?" Sam asked.

"Basically, you have both the male and female reproductive parts," the doctor informed him. "We're still unsure of the pathway traveled by the sperm between the anus and uterus, but it looks as though you have the ability to become pregnant. It will be extremely risky; we'll have to put you on several medications and hormone pills, but you can have a healthy baby just like any woman. Now…"

"What if I don't want to keep it?"

"Sam, honey, you know that's not an option," his mother said sternly.

Yes, it was, in Sam's opinion, but his conservative parents would _never_ allow for it. Sam glared at her before looking down at his feet. The doctor cleared his throat and said, "Abortion would be just as risky as keeping it, at this point. Since we're unsure of the pathway and arrangement of organs, we wouldn't be sure where to enter though without extensive testing that would lead far into the second trimester. We will need to test and figure out the course anyway for the birth, but it would be far too risky to rush things. Your best option is to try to carry this baby the full nine months and make a decision from there."

Sam gulped. He couldn't keep a baby. What would the kids at school say? Especially since Sam didn't know who the father was – _god_ that sounded strange to say. "It will take a few lifestyle and diet changes, but we can work through this together, Sam," the doctor said, trying to sound reassuring. "It's all going to be okay."

Sam just wanted to shout that no, it wasn't going to be okay, but he couldn't. He kept his composure as the doctor told him all his new restrictions to keep the baby safe – no contact sports, limited physical activity (glee club was fine _thank goodness_), vitamin supplements, four different prescriptions, and two doctor's visits a month. In the car, they rode in silence most of the way. About halfway home, his mother spoke up, "Honey, why didn't you just tell me you were gay?"

"I didn't really know," Sam said defensively.

"Well you must have known if you _had sex_ with a boy," she shot. "Have you been having sex for long?"

"No, it was…uh my first time," he admitted, embarrassed.

He couldn't even remember his first time. He'd made such a big deal about wanting to get with Quinn and then he went and threw away his first time on some guy that he couldn't even remember. "Well, you should tell the…other father," she winced at the strange phrase. "He should be pitching in on doctor's bills."

Sam just nodded, hoping she'd end the conversation there, but luck as not on his side. "Who is he, by the way?" she asked.

Sam looked at her nervously and said, "Um…just some guy. You don't know him."

She eyed him strangely but didn't press the matter any. He dozed off on the rest of the ride back. As they walked inside, she told him sternly, "We'll wait to tell your father for a few days. He's had a rough time at work and doesn't need this, too. And you're going back to school tomorrow – since it's just morning sickness you can deal with it there."

Sam wanted to complain but didn't. Instead he just went upstairs, getting rest before he had to go back to school and face everyone again. He heard more shouting that evening about money and how much they'd spent on gas and doctor's bills for "no apparent reason" since they were keeping the pregnancy under wraps. He wanted to lash out and put his father in his place, but the one time Sam had done that, his dad had hit him. He probably deserved it, but still. It wasn't going to happen again if Sam had any say about it.

It was difficult to sleep that night, and Sam found himself trudging sleepily into McKinley only to be greeted (far too enthusiastically) by Finn. "Hey, glad you're feeling better," the tall teen said excitedly.

Sam grumbled a hello and kept walking to his locker. His stomach was churning and if he threw up in school because of that damn baby, he was seriously going to consider throwing himself down the stairs. Finn looked at him curiously and for a minute he looked scared. "If you're still sick you should be at home," he insisted.

"I can't," Sam shook his head. "I…mom won't let me since I've missed so much school already."

"That sucks, man," Finn shook his head.

He kept walking down the hall, straight up to Quinn. Sam felt his stomach flop at the sight of them kissing in the hall. He was so distracted by them that he didn't notice Santana sneaking up beside him. "Who knocked you up, trouty mouth?" she asked.

Sam spun to face her, panic in his eyes. She narrowed her eyes at him and he willed himself not to freak out. "I'm just still not feeling well," he mumbled.

Santana eyed him warily, not quite convinced by his excuse, but she didn't press him anymore. "Well, maybe you should go to the nurse then," she said simply before walking away.

Sam considered doing just that, but he needed to go to class – he was really behind on homework. Everyone in the glee club sent him concerned looks throughout the day; it was frustrating and made it hard for Sam to concentrate. By the time glee club rehearsal rolled around, everyone was surrounding him, asking a thousand different questions.

Santana stood towards the back, arms crossed and a skeptical eye aimed his way. Finn looked nervous and didn't get too close to Sam. Puck just kept telling everyone to back off and leave him alone (if only they'd _listen_). They seemed the most suspicious right off the bat. Sam wanted to ask them about that night, but the less people that knew about it, the better. He couldn't even fathom the embarrassment of walking up to Finn or Puck and asking if he had sex with them.

Kurt sat cross legged in the corner, his expression that of indifference. Sam couldn't decide if that was a good sign or a bad sign. He would send weird looks Sam's way every so often; looks that were almost _longing_. Artie wasn't acting out of the ordinary, and Mike just walked up with the trash can that usually sat next to the door. "In case you need it during practice," he laughed.

Sam tried to look grateful but he just had his fingers crossed that all they'd be doing was singing. It wasn't going to be fun if they were learning choreography. It always took Sam forever to learn dance moves anyway.

Unfortunately Mr. Schue walked in, ready to start teaching dance for a song they had learned while Sam was home sick. He followed along as best as he could, but barely twenty minutes in he was rushing towards the garbage can. "Sam, maybe you should go to the nurse," Mr. Schue suggested, handing him a paper towel from his office.

Sam wiped his mouth and nodded. The rest of the club watched with concern as Sam walked over to his things. As he picked up his backpack, most everyone turned back to Mr. Schue, who was starting rehearsal again. One pair of blue eyes stayed on Sam, though, and those eyes couldn't help but spot the dark black and grey photo flying out of Sam's backpack as he closed it, settling just underneath the drum set where nobody could see.

Kurt lingered after rehearsal, and only after promising Mercedes that he'd call her later to go shopping was he alone. He peeked under the drum set and pulled out the photo slowly. It was a sonogram, and as soon as Kurt saw it, he scrambled to put it in his book bag. Kurt rushed out to his car where Finn sat waiting in the passenger seat. He drove home, drowning out any conversation Finn wanted to have with the Across the Universe soundtrack (one of the only music choices they could agree on).

Once home, Kurt rushed to their basement bedroom and into the bathroom. "Did Sam get you sick or something?" Finn asked through the door.

"I'm fine," Kurt insisted. "I just really had to go."

He blushed at the embarrassing lie and pulled his book bag open. The sonogram rested in his hands delicately, like he couldn't believe it had come from _Sam_. The logical explanation was that he'd knocked up Santana back when they were dating when Kurt came back from Dalton. The name at the top said Sam Evans, though. Kurt furrowed his brow and shoved the sonogram back in his bag.

Walking out of the bathroom, he avoided Finn's strange looks and went straight to his car. He _needed_ to figure out what was going on. Now.


	2. Chapter 2

When Sam's mom walked into his room with Kurt Hummel on her heels, his stomach dropped. "A boy is here to see you," she said, her voice distant, before she turned and left them alone.

"Uh…hi," Sam said awkwardly.

Kurt shut the door behind him and walked over to Sam quickly. "What's this?" he asked, shuffling in his bag.

When he pulled out the sonogram, Sam's eyes went wide and he snatched it away quickly. "It's nothing," Sam lied, his face turning beet red.

Panicked, Kurt sat on the end of Sam's bed where the blond was currently lying down and said frantically, "Is this real? Are you really pregnant?"

"Why do you care?" Sam asked defensively.

Taking a deep breath, Kurt said, "What if this means _I_ can get pregnant! I don't even know how this was possible but what if being gay really _is_ genetic and I can get pregnant and…"

"Kurt, shut up," the blonde said quickly.

Kurt froze and looked at Sam. "You're going to be fine," he admitted. "It's just some freak thing that happened before I was born. I had a twin sister or something and like…absorbed her. It would be cool if it didn't mean I could get _pregnant_."

With a sigh of relief, Kurt said, "Oh. Good."

They sat there awkwardly for a moment, Kurt's eyes lingering on Sam's stomach before he asked softly, "Who's the father?"

"What?" Sam asked; he hadn't been expecting _that_ to come out of Kurt's mouth.

Actually, if Sam was being totally honest, it would have been pretty cool if Kurt was the baby's other father. That would mean that the baby actually had a _chance_ at having two parents. With anyone else, they'd probably up and run because the other guys aren't even _gay_. Sam looked disappointed before flushing and admitting, "I can't remember."

"What?" Kurt asked incredulously. "You had sex, how can you not remember that?"

"It was at Rachel's party I think," he said. "I don't know who it was but now I guess I can rule you out."

Kurt just nodded and watched Sam with sympathetic eyes. "I don't remember much from that evening, either, but I'll try to help you," he said softly. "If you want."

Sam's head snapped up and his eyes met Kurt's. "Seriously?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Kurt shrugged simply.

Sam was so overwhelmed and happy and – for the first time in _days_ he was smiling. "Thanks," Sam said gratefully. "Just um…don't tell anyone yet, okay?"

Kurt nodded, understanding exactly why the other boy would want to keep the secret. Gay or not, Sam was _pregnant_, and that was much worse in the grand scheme of things. McKinley was getting used to someone being gay – but a pregnant boy would be much too farfetched for their closed-minded brains to absorb. "I should uh…I should do my homework, though," Sam said sadly. "'I'm really behind."

Standing from the bed, Kurt said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Sam offered one last smile as Kurt left.

His mom must have noticed when Kurt left because moments later she was up in his room, leaning against the doorframe. "Who was that?" she asked.

"That was Kurt," Sam replied simply. "He's in glee club with me at school."

"Is he the…?" she trailed off.

It was like she was afraid to talk about the pregnancy even when Sam's father wasn't there. He found it a little annoying, but just sighed and said, "No he's not."

She looked at him with scrutinizing eyes but accepted his answer. "You need to tell me eventually," his mother said.

"Does it matter who it is?" Sam snapped.

His mom looked surprised and said, "I just think he should be helping with these doctor's bills. We're not made of money, you know."

"I'll tell _you_ once I'm ready to tell _him_," Sam said firmly.

"Sam," her voice was stern and full of warning.

"Mom, can you please leave? I need to do my homework," he interrupted.

She stared at him for a moment, surprised at how he was speaking to her. Sam was usually so quiet and did whatever she asked of him. "Don't forget your medicine," she said, eyeing the bottles on his bedside table.

He didn't acknowledge her at all as he turned back to his algebra homework. It took him hours to finish everything – the papers for English (which were hard enough, forget the fact that he was dyslexic) and all the algebra. Sam was more than ready for bed when ten o'clock rolled around. He fell asleep and wasn't woken by shouting that night; it was wonderful.

At school Sam and Kurt would occasionally talk in the halls; mostly about how Sam was doing with his homework (Kurt even offered to tutor him if he needed it). They fell into a comfortable friendship and the baby never even came up in conversation. Well, at least for a few weeks.

"Sam, can I uh…can I talk to you?" Kurt asked after rehearsal one day.

Finn sent Kurt a strange look (like he always did when Kurt and Sam would hang out) and lingered, as did Puck, who found the new alliance endlessly strange. "Alone," Kurt added, glaring at his step-brother.

"Sure," Sam said nervously, watching as Puck and Finn sent suspicious glances their way.

Once everyone was gone, Kurt turned to Sam nervously. "Look, you know I want to help you through this all, and you know I'm going to keep this a secret, but…" he began. A million things Kurt could say ran through Sam's mind, each one worse than the last. "You're starting to show."

Instantly Sam panicked. If he was showing people would found out and if people found out he was _dead_. "What do I do?" he asked nervously.

"Well, right now you just look like you gained post-season weight or something," Kurt shrugged. "It's not a big deal. But it's not going to stay that way forever. You're going to need to buy new clothes."

Sam sat down on a chair and buried his face in his hands. "Mom took away my allowance so she could pay for the medicine without dad finding out," he said. "I have _no_ money for clothes."

Kurt sat down next to Sam and rubbed his back slowly. He discovered early on in their relationship that rubbing Sam's back helped him calm down. "I'll buy you some. It's not a big deal," Kurt said.

"No," Sam said firmly. "You're _not_ spending money on me. This isn't even your problem."

"We're friends, Sam," Kurt insisted. "You don't even know how many times I've bought things for Mercedes or Rachel when we were out shopping. Why should you be any different?"

Sam looked up at Kurt, his blonde hair slightly disheveled. "We'll go this weekend," Kurt said, a small smile on his face. "I'm not letting you say no."

"Thanks, Kurt," Sam replied gratefully.

"No problem," Kurt said, patting Sam on the shoulder before getting up and leaving.

Sam watched the boy as he retreated; he never thought in a million years that he'd be such good friends with Kurt Hummel. He was such a nice guy, though, and not once did he judge Sam. Nor did he ask if Sam was gay or not, thankfully, because Sam _still_ wasn't sure he knew the answer. When Sam walked out of the choir room, Finn and Puck were standing in the hall waiting for him. "Hey guys," he said, trying to hide the panic in his voice.

"What's up?" Puck asked, clapping him roughly on the back.

They started walking with him down the hall and Sam started getting a little suspicious. "Not much," Sam said slowly looking at them both strangely. "Why?"

"Well, we noticed that you've been hanging out with Kurt a lot lately," Finn said, stepping in front of Sam.

The blonde froze and looked between the other two guys. "Yeah," Sam shrugged, trying to stay casual. "We're friends."

"Are you gay?" Puck asked bluntly.

Sam glared at them both and said, "Hanging out with Kurt doesn't make me gay."

Finn looked to Puck desperately. "People are starting to say things about you two, though," Puck told him. "If you want to stay on top for football in the fall, you _can't_ be doing this. It's gonna tear the team apart because Karofsky's such a closet case."

"Kurt's dating Blaine," Sam said simply. "Kurt and I are _friends_. And I don't even know if I'm going out for football in the fall."

He turned to walk away before the guys could question him about football, but wasn't so lucky. "What!" Finn asked incredulously, grabbing Sam by the shoulder.

He shrugged out of Finn's grasp and said, "I have a lot of other stuff going on."

"You wanna tell us what's _really_ going on?" Puck asked.

"Nothing is going on," Sam shouted. He lowered his voice and said, "Home kind of sucks right now and Kurt noticed I was upset and we've been hanging out. That's all there is to know."

Puck narrowed his eyes at Sam, but the conversation was over. Sam stormed down the hall and Finn said lamely, "He's crabbier than a girl right now."

Puck laughed a little and they walked down the hall to their next class. If Sam was going to be a drama queen, who were they to stop him? Plus, if Sam didn't want to be on the football team, then that meant Finn would automatically get to be starting quarterback for his senior year. He wasn't going to argue with that.

The weekend couldn't come fast enough for Sam; ever since Kurt had pointed out that he was showing, he'd but super self-conscious. He'd check himself in the mirror and it was hard not to pat his stomach. When he was alone, locked in the bathroom after a shower, Sam would find himself staring at his reflection in the mirror in awe.

He was at twelve weeks and his stomach had a defined curve to the front of it. It freaked him out more than anything, but part of him liked it. There was a little baby inside of him – he couldn't feel it yet and couldn't really pick it out of the sonogram, but it was there.

Saturday morning Sam stood in the bathroom, staring at his belly through the steamy mirror, when a loud knock resounded on the door. "Your friend is here!" his mother called through the door.

Shit. Kurt was picking him up to go shopping. Right. Sam pulled on a sweatshirt (not really appropriate for springtime in Ohio, but he'd sweat if it meant nobody would find out) along with some jeans (they were ridiculously tight and he hated it) before he ran downstairs. He grabbed an apple from the table before slipping on his tennis shoes and racing out the door.

Sam bounded down the drive to where Kurt's Navigator sat parked on the side of the street. He climbed in and said breathlessly, "Hey."

"Hi," Kurt said, surprised at how enthusiastic Sam was.

They drove away from Sam's house and made their way to the mall. It was easy enough to avoid people; the North Hills Mall was rather large. They only saw one person they knew (Tina) but she was so busy shopping with her sister she didn't even notice them. Kurt knew all the best stores with the best deals, and he was surprisingly good at finding men's clothes to cover a bulging stomach. When Sam asked about it, Kurt just laughed and said, "My dad always used to ask how to cover his beer belly before he went to the bar."

Sam let out a nervous laugh and tried not to feel guilty as Kurt paid for far too many sets of clothing for Sam's taste. This baby wasn't Kurt's; he shouldn't be spending this money. He was so selfless and Sam couldn't stop thanking him for it. "It's really no big deal," Kurt said. "Now, let's go get some hot pretzels before we leave, yeah?"

"Yeah," Sam grinned.

He'd been _so hungry_ the past few days it was ridiculous. The morning sickness was finally dissipating and Sam was happy he could enjoy a good meal without having to wonder if he was going to end up throwing it up again. Kurt treated them to pretzels and they sat down on a bench, bags littering the ground around their feet. They got a few strange looks and Kurt ignored them like a pro, but Sam couldn't help but feel awkward. People thought they were gay _together_. Was this really the sort of thing Kurt put up with all the time? Sam lost himself in these thoughts until he was interrupted by Kurt's voice, "Are you ready to go?"

Sam looked down and popped the last bite of pretzel into his mouth before nodding. They gathered the bags and went out to Kurt's car. The whole drive home they sang along to Jason Mraz and Sam wished he wouldn't have to leave Kurt so soon. He liked having a friend – a friend so _supportive_ of him. They pulled up outside Sam's house and Kurt asked, "Do you need help carrying anything in?"

"No, I should be good," Sam nodded. He was silent for a minute and Kurt watched him curiously. "Thanks for today, Kurt. Really."

"You're welcome," Kurt smiled back. "I'm glad I could help."

Sam sighed and climbed out of the car. He grabbed his bags of new clothes and waved with a full hand before turning to walk towards his house. His father stood, waiting at the door. "Let me help you with those," he said, grabbing the bags from Sam's right hand.

Sam hadn't even had a chance to protest. Instead, he just let his dad follow him upstairs to his room, a sinking feeling growing in his stomach with each step he took.


	3. Chapter 3

Once they reached Sam's room, the boy turned to face his father and said, "Thanks, I got it from here."

"I've seen your room before, Sam," his father said, his voice eerily calm. "Come on, I'll help you unpack all these new clothes you didn't have the money to buy."

Sam's heart was racing and he could tell things weren't going to go well. Slowly he opened the door, wincing at the realization that his medicine and the sonogram were out on the table. He tried to pretend they weren't though; if he didn't draw attention to them, his father wouldn't notice.

They set the bags down on Sam's bed and Sam quickly started putting the clothes away before his dad could notice anything. "Sam, these are the wrong size," his dad said, holding up a pair of jeans.

"No, I uh…I put on some weight. My jeans are super tight right now," Sam blushed.

"You should have gone out for baseball," his dad said. "I don't see why you didn't."

"Dad, I've got glee club and stuff," he replied lamely, looking down at the clothes on the bed.

His dad looked over at him fiercely and said, "Glee club is for girls and gay boys. You shouldn't have joined in the first place, Samuel."

"It's fun," Sam told him. "I like to sing and all my friends are in it."

"And your boyfriend is too," his dad finished rudely.

Sam froze for a minute before saying, "Kurt is not my boyfriend."

With a sneer, his father said, "But you want him to be."

"No, I don't," Sam said firmly, making eye contact with his father once again.

His dad looked _pissed_. Yeah, things were totally not going to go well. They stared at each other for a moment, almost challenging each other to say something. "What are those?" his father asked simply, staring over at his bedside table.

Sam's stomach dropped.

"Medicines," he shrugged.

"Your mother said you were fine," his dad said, wandering around the bed and picking one up. "You have four different prescriptions here…all in your name. How did you pay for these?"

Sam struggled to find an excuse; he couldn't get his mom in trouble. Last time he did that she had a black eye (his dad slipped, it was an accident is all) and since then they'd all been terrified of him. "I used my allowance," he said. It wasn't exactly a lie, after all.

His dad gave a disbelieving laugh before picking up the sonogram. "And how did you pay for _this_?" he asked, his voice dangerously soft.

The boy gulped and felt his father inching nearer. In one swift move, Sam's sweatshirt was pulled up to his armpits, his bare torso exposed. His jeans were resting below the baby bump, accenting it even more. "What kind of freak are you?" his father asked angrily.

He stepped away from Sam roughly. Quickly Sam covered his stomach and said, "It's this genetic thing that happened before-"

"I don't care!" his dad bellowed.

Sam stopped talking immediately. He may not have been thrilled about being a dude and pregnant, but there was no way in hell his dad was hurting the baby. Or him, if he'd have anything to say about it, but that seemed far more likely. "Pack up. You're not living under my roof like this," he instructed roughly.

"Dad!" Sam shouted. "You can't just kick me out – I don't have anywhere to go!"

"Go live with your faggy boyfriend," his father said with a menacing smirk.

Sam was seething but so far he'd been unharmed and he wanted to keep it that way. His dad went over to his closet and pulled out a black suitcase. Sam hadn't used it since they moved and he certainly hadn't expected to use it so soon. "Pack your shit and get out of my house," his dad repeated, dumping the bags of new clothes right into the suitcase.

His dad had made up his mind and Sam had no choice but to go with it. He rushed around his room, gathering underwear and sweatpants and basically anything that would fit him that he already owned. He tossed it angrily into the suitcase where his father had dumped out his new clothes. Sam thought he was rushing, but obviously he wasn't moving fast enough. His dad pulled the suitcase out of his grasp and zipped it shut quickly.

Grabbing the things from his bedside table and shoving them in the pockets of his letterman's jacket, Sam rushed down the stairs behind his father who was carrying the suitcase. Downstairs Sam's mom, younger brother, and younger sister watched fearfully from the living room. Sam sent his mother a pleading look. She could speak up and try to change his dad's mind. The tears in her eyes said otherwise, though, and Sam was ripped back to reality at the sound of his suitcase hitting the concrete outside.

His dad shoved him out the door. Sam landed on his knees in the driveway, just next to his suitcase. "Don't bother coming back," his father shouted before slamming the door shut.

Maybe it was the shock of everything that happened, or maybe it was the baby hormones, but Sam couldn't help it – he burst into tears. He leaned over his suitcase and let the tears fall. He didn't know where he was supposed to go or what he was supposed to do – but he had no home. The front door swung open and for a moment Sam thought his dad had changed his mind.

Quietly his youngest sibling, his sister, walked out. Her blonde curls bounced on her shoulders as she carried his backpack out to him. "You forgot your homework," she said sadly.

Without another word she set the backpack at his feet and walked back inside. He called after her but she didn't turn around. Sam's heart was breaking – his whole family was tossing him away like he was nothing and it hurt like hell. Slowly Sam stood, swinging his backpack onto his back before pulling out the handle of the suitcase and walking down the drive.

His tears had subsided a little but everything still hurt. He couldn't really think of where to go besides Kurt's house – but that wouldn't go over well. Kurt had told Sam about how he'd gotten in trouble when Blaine slept over. Then Sam remembered that Kurt and Finn were brothers and he could just say he was there to stay with _Finn_. It would work out.

Slowly Sam trudged down the sidewalk. His side ached and he felt dizzy by the time he was half-way to Kurt's house. He paused for a minute and sat on his suitcase, trying to convince himself he could make it the rest of the way. He wasn't quite sure where he was, but was pulled from his thoughts when a confused voice called out his name.

Sam looked around, searching for the source. A familiar face poked their head around the tall shrubbery blocking him from the house on the corner. "Sam?" he asked.

"Blaine, what are you doing in Lima?" he asked, standing.

Blaine didn't reply, though. He just walked up to Sam, concern in his eyes. "You look awful. Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Sam nodded.

The motion was too much, though. He felt sick just from nodding and swayed a little on the spot. "You should be home if you're sick," Blaine told him.

With a scowl, Sam said, "You think?"

Blaine was surprised at how snippy Sam was being and didn't press further. Noticing the bags Sam had with him, realization hit and Blaine said, "Oh, you're going somewhere."

"I guess," Sam shrugged.

"Why didn't you get a ride or something?"

Sam sighed and said, "I really don't want to talk about this right now. I just need to get to Kurt's."

Blaine looked incredulous and asked, "And you're planning on walking there? You won't get there for a while."

"I'll be fine."

Sam really just wanted to get moving. Blaine kept asking stupid questions and pointing out the obvious and all Sam wanted to do was curl up and cry and maybe take a shower. "Let me give you a ride," Blaine offered, leading Sam to the driveway.

He was so tired, Sam couldn't find it in himself to complain. Instead he allowed himself to be led to the car where he climbed in the passenger seat as Blaine put his suitcase in the trunk. Blaine drove a fancy black BMW and still hadn't explained why he was in Lima, but Sam wasn't going to argue.

When they reached Kurt's house, a wave of relief spread throughout Sam. They knocked on the door and Burt answered, looking them both over. "Hey boys," Burt called into the living room, obviously confused at the visitors (as well as who was there to see whom). "You have company."

Finn and Kurt walked towards the door and when they saw who it was, they weren't quite sure how to react. "What's wrong?" Kurt asked Sam instantly.

"I uh…" he fought back a new wave of tears (damn hormones!) and said to Kurt, "Dad found out."

Everyone watched the two of them in complete confusion as Kurt rushed forward and pulled Sam into a big hug. "What happened?" he asked Sam quickly. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Sam stepped away and shook his head. "He uh…he didn't hurt me but I got kicked out."

"Do you boys want to fill me in on what's going on?" Burt asked.

"Just a minute, dad," Kurt said, stepping past them both to greet Blaine at the door. "Come in."

"I can't stay long, I have to get back, but I want to make sure Sam's okay," Blaine explained.

"Of course," Kurt gave him a small smile.

Finn watched all three of them in confusion. "Finn, why don't you go back to the game, we'll talk about this later," Kurt said, then he turned to his father. "We'll go talk in the kitchen."

As much as Finn wanted to be angry, he would have much rather gone to watch the game, so he went back into the living room. The other four sat at the table and Sam explained it all. Blaine stared at Sam the whole time, his jaw dropped a little. Sam even had the guts to admit to Kurt's dad that he didn't know who the father was. Blaine got nervous at that point. "Well, you can stay here for now," Burt said. "Once you find out who the father is, we'll go from there."

Sam looked relieved and his watery eyes met Burt's. "Thank you, Mr. Hummel."

"Now, Blaine, you should get going. We don't want you getting in trouble with your parents," he suggested.

Kurt stood and walked Blaine to the door while Burt brought Sam upstairs to pull out the trundle bed in Finn's room. He knew that Sam and Kurt were becoming closer and even though Kurt was dating Blaine, Burt was taking no chances.

Out on the porch, Blaine asked, "You stayed sober that night, right?"

"Yeah," Kurt said slowly. "Why?"

"I didn't…I mean, Sam and I didn't…?" Blaine trailed off nervously.

When Kurt realized what he was asking, he sighed. "I don't know," he said, frustrated. "You disappeared upstairs for a bit but I can't remember for the life of me who you went with."

"Oh god, Kurt, what if I…?" Blaine asked, his voice trembling.

"I'll talk to some of the others from that night. Not everyone was drunk out of their mind like you and Sam were," Kurt said, trying to be reassuring. He pulled Blaine into a hug. "Don't freak out about it, though. You'll get early wrinkles and that will _really_ be a shame if it wasn't you after all."

Blaine couldn't help but let out a soft laugh at his boyfriend's logic. The whole drive back to Westerville, though, Blaine couldn't keep his thoughts off of Sam.

When Finn and Sam finally settled in to bed, things were a little awkward. Finn kept pressing to find out what was going on and Sam didn't want to talk. Eventually when Finn asked for the hundredth time what Sam's dad had found out about, the blonde couldn't help but say _something. _"He found out that I might like guys and got pissed off," Sam sighed.

It was half-true. He was finding himself looking at boys every now and then. He'd get the same feelings he did when he looked at girls and as unnerving as it was, Sam was coming to terms with the fact that it was just how his brain worked. Thankfully Finn didn't press anymore and Sam was free to fall asleep. He slept fitfully, his dreams haunted of his angry father and the loss of his baby, but the following day was a Sunday and he had the chance to sleep in.

It wasn't hard for Sam to fall into place in the Hummel-Hudson household, at least at first. What was difficult was how cut-off Sam was becoming and how panicked he was getting. His cell phone wasn't working anymore and he had another visit with the specialist this week. The bi-weekly thing was annoying, but that wasn't why Sam was so upset. What bothered him was that his family wasn't going to pay the bills anymore and this special doctor cost _a lot_.

Sam couldn't tell Kurt this, though, and instead lied to his friend and said he was just upset about the whole mess of getting kicked out. It wasn't totally untrue, but he couldn't burden Kurt any more than he already had.


	4. Chapter 4

The weekend ended quickly and much too soon Sam was back in school, struggling to keep up with notes in biology and pretending to care in history. Kurt kept a wary eye on him as often as he could, and more and more Sam was noticing other glee club members watching him as well.

After first period, Sam walked up to Kurt. "I'm fine, you know," he said softly.

Kurt looked Sam over seriously, his blue eyes fill of sadness. "You pretend you are," Kurt corrected. "Ever since Saturday night you haven't been the same. I'm just worried is all."

"I don't need you telling everyone to watch over me," Sam said defensively.

With a sigh, Kurt said, "Okay, fine. I'll tell them to stop. But if something happens and nobody was there to help, don't come crying to me."

Sam wanted to be angry at Kurt when he turned and walked away, but he couldn't. Not when he cared so much about him. "You really are knocked up, aren't you?" a voice pulled Sam from his thoughts.

His brain went into panic mode and he spun around quickly, hoping that nobody had heard. Santana watched him with raised eyebrow, waiting for an answer. "I uh…" he stammered.

"Shut it, this isn't the first time it's happened in Ohio," she said quickly, rolling her eyes. "My dad's a doctor. He took care of the last dude that it happened to. Some guy got a sex change and had sex before he was supposed to."

Sam's eyes darted around the hallway; still nobody turned to look at them. "Look, Kurt told us your dad kicked you out because you thought you might be gay," she said. "He didn't rat out your little secret, so don't worry about it. I figured this one out on my own."

"You can't tell anyone," Sam said in a harsh whisper.

"Woah, chill out there froggy lips," she held up her hands. "I'm not here to make your life hell. In fact, I want to help."

She crossed her arms and Sam watched her suspiciously. "Help me how?" he asked slowly.

"Didn't you hear me? I said my dad's a doctor and took care of the last pregnant dude. He probably knows more than whoever the hell your family hired," she shrugged.

Sam stared at her for a minute. "Look, I know this is a risky thing. I also know that since you got kicked out, you have no money," Santana said simply. "I'm saying that I talked to my dad and he's willing to do your doctor's visits and all that baby shit for free."

"How…?" Sam asked.

"Just, take it, okay?" she said simply. "I don't want you to die or something because some guy knocked you up. I may be in love with Brittany but you're still the only real boyfriend I've ever had and I care about you."

Sam just stared at Santana before nodding and saying, "Uh…thanks."

"You're welcome," she said simply. "Now, just let me know when you want your first appointment or whatever and I'll tell my dad."

He nodded and thanked her again before walking in to algebra. Most of the time he let his mind wander off to the baby and the father and all of that. His mind drifted to thoughts of how the baby was conceived and how much he wished he could remember it all; the kisses, the foreplay, the sex – _everything_. Sam's mind wandered to who it could have been and he found himself flashing back to that night – only for a split second, but still…it was there.

_Short dark hair, not too short, but definitely enough to tickle his neck. The guy kissed his neck and yeah, Sam could remember how nice it felt. His fingers wove perfectly into the hair and it was so soft and wonderful…_

As quickly as it happened, it was gone. Sam still couldn't wait to get up and find Kurt between classes, though. He was making progress – maybe he just needed to think about what it could have been like more often? After class Sam bolted from the room to find Kurt. He didn't, though, and it took until lunch for Sam to find Kurt. "What is going _on_?" Kurt asked as Sam tugged him to the side of the lunch line quickly.

"I remembered something," Sam said quickly. "From that night! I remembered!"

Kurt's eyes bulged and he asked incredulously, "You know who it was!"

"Well, no," Sam admitted, his smile fading. "But! I had a flashback of that night. He has dark hair. The guy I was with has dark hair. It was soft and…well, that's all I remember, but that narrows it down!"

Sam couldn't figure out why Kurt wasn't as excited. "Well, that eliminates _Puck_ at least," he said. Sam's smile dropped. "Well, look at who was there," Kurt told Sam as they rejoined the lunch line. "You, me, Blaine, Puck, Finn, Mike, and Artie. It wasn't me, we figured that out, and we don't think it was Artie. That leaves Blaine, Puck, Finn, and Mike, all of whom have dark hair. The guy didn't have a mohawk?"

"No," Sam shook his head. "It was all there."

"Well, there you go," Kurt said, reaching for the salad. "You've eliminated Puck. That leaves Blaine, Finn, and Mike."

Sam visibly deflated, his shoulders slumping, as he reached out for a big bowl of chili. "I guess that's still good though, right?" he asked.

"Of course it is," Kurt said happily as he dressed his salad with radishes and cucumbers.

While he may have eliminated one guy from the mix, Sam realized he still had three guys it could possibly be. All through lunch he struggled to revisit the memory; he wanted to see if he could pick out any more details about the guy.

"When do you need to go to the doctor next?" Kurt asked as they sat at a table alone, waiting for the other members of glee that shared their same lunch shift.

"Uh…this week," Sam said. "Santana said her dad has worked with some other guy that had a baby. He said he'd do my checkups for free since my parents took me off their insurance and stuff."

"This has happened before?"

"Well, the person had a sex change or something," Sam shrugged. "But he's got experience too, and I don't need to pay for it, so what can it hurt?"

Kurt didn't say anything after that; Artie, Brittany, Rachel, and Mercedes sat down to join them for lunch. Sam and Kurt didn't get a chance to talk again until after school. They sat up front in the car, Finn in the back seat watching them curiously. They went up to Kurt's room after school, leaving Finn downstairs to watch TV, which he did enthusiastically (even though there was homework to be done).

"Sam, Blaine thinks it might be his," Kurt sighed as soon as they were in his room.

Sam froze and just stared at Kurt. "Does he…remember it or something?" he asked softly.

"Well, no, but…he just has it in his head that it was him," Kurt explained. "I know you want to keep this a secret and I swear I'll respect that, but I think we need to tell more people in the glee club. They can help us figure this out, Sam."

"No," Sam said instantly, shaking his head. "I'm not ready for that."

"It's all he talks about," Kurt continued. "He's losing sleep because of it, and one of the other guys in the Warblers, Jeff, says that Blaine won't even take the solos anymore. It's a big problem and we need to find out before he fails out of Dalton or something."

"I told you I'm not ready," Sam repeated firmly.

Before Kurt could get another word in, Sam stormed downstairs. He sat down on a couch in the living room, not even bothering to look at what Finn was watching. Sam had a thousand things on his mind and Kurt wasn't making things any better. He couldn't stop thinking about everything and it was getting really difficult when Kurt was trying to push him to tell. He just wasn't _ready_ to tell.

What would it mean if Blaine was the father, though? The boy had money, that much was true, but he lived so far away. Would Sam have to move with him? Did that mean he'd have to go to a private school that he couldn't afford? Or worse – start _another_ new public school? Switching schools always made Sam nervous and he hated having to be outgoing enough to make friends.

Then there was Kurt. What would this all mean for Kurt? Sam and Kurt were good friends now – Sam considered Kurt his best friend. Would Blaine being the father mess up their whole friendship? It was a pretty screwed up situation. Sam started to become depressed as he thought about it all. He was pulled from his thoughts by Finn, though. "Do you want to talk about it?" the tall boy asked.

Sam looked over at Finn. He had that earnest, I-want-to-help look on his face, and for a minute Sam considered telling him. Instead he sighed and said, "I just…I don't know."

"Maybe it'll help," Finn shrugged. "I swear, whatever you tell me I'll keep secret."

Sam wasn't so sure this was actually true, nor did he think he could tell him. "I um…" he stammered, struggling to make a decision. "Can I use your phone?"

Finn looked disappointed and surprised by the question. Wordlessly he pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Sam. "Thanks," Sam said, standing and walking into the dining room.

He called Santana and set up a time to meet with her dad the next day. Sam returned the phone to Finn and went back upstairs; he didn't really want to talk about it with anyone. He wandered up to Kurt's room and sat down to do his algebra. Every so often he'd ask Kurt for help, but that's the only conversation they held until after dinner.

"I called Santana," Sam said. "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Can you drive me?"

Kurt looked over at Sam for a moment. He didn't agree with the boy's decision to keep it quiet from the glee club; he really cared about Blaine and the boy was _not_ taking it well. Sam looked desperate, though, and a little sad, and Kurt found himself nodding without a second thought. "Yeah, I can," he said softly.

"Thank you," Sam smiled gratefully.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kurt said, "I think you should tell Finn, though. He's the only one in the house that doesn't know."

Sam knew Kurt had a point, but he couldn't bring himself to tell the story – not again, not so soon. He just nodded and returned to his homework. Sam wished Kurt would be more understanding, cursing the awkward silence and reading over his history half-heartedly.

The two didn't speak again until the next day when they were walking into Santana's father's office. "You're sure you want to trust this guy instead of the specialist?" Kurt asked.

"I'm sure," Sam nodded. "I can't afford the specialist, and her dad has experience with this."

Kurt looked skeptical but followed Sam inside. It was all so strange for Kurt – an experience he _never_ thought he'd have, especially in high school. Sam rested on an uncomfortable looking table, his face relaxed like he'd done this a million times, like it wasn't strange. Kurt just sat on the stool next to him, waiting for Dr. Lopez.

When he walked in he introduced himself and said that he got all the files from the specialist in Columbus. "We're still looking to figure out the path the baby will take at birth, but we're comfortable with planning on a cesarean section if you would prefer that," he said after talking about some medical condition.

"A what?" Sam asked nervously.

"A c-section is the removal of the baby through an incision right about here," he ran his finger along the bottom of Sam's baby bump. "It would be the safer option for your situation, but natural delivery could be possible with more research."

Sam looked scared. They would cut him open to take the baby out? That would leave a scar and a scar would mean his body would be even _less_ perfect. "You still have time to think about it," Dr. Lopez said, sensing panic. "We won't need to know until you're at about twenty weeks, that way we have time for pathway testing before you're at full term."

He nodded nervously, his fingers resting on his stomach. It was a natural resting place for him, and he cursed himself for letting his hands fall there so naturally. Dr. Lopez turned on the machine and Sam lifted his shirt. Kurt watched silently as the ultrasound was performed, the sound of a heartbeat echoing throughout the room. Sam just watched the screen nervously as Dr. Lopez took measurements and readings on the baby.

The doctor pressed a button to print an updated picture and Sam cleaned off his stomach with a paper towel. He sat up and covered his stomach with his sweatshirt. "Right now the baby is doing well," Dr. Lopez said. "The baby is a little small but I think that is because of the unusual nature of the pregnancy. We'll keep an eye on it though. Now, I see you're on some prescriptions – I'm going to keep you on those, they seem to be working well."

"So I can still do glee club?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Yes," Dr. Lopez said slowly. "But…flying might be risky for your pregnancy, and that could interfere with your trip to Nationals."

Sam just stared at the floor for a moment. He was going through all that work just to be told he can't travel out there? It wasn't fair. "We'll check on the baby at your next visit and maybe you will be well enough to fly," he said, hoping to reassure Sam. "It's still difficult to tell at this point."

Kurt reached out and grasped Sam's hand, pulling him down from the table. They went down the hall where Dr. Lopez handed him the sonogram before Kurt led him out of the office in silence. "It's all going to work out, Sam," he said softly. "You'll be able to go, I know it."

Sam just stared out the window. Not only was he letting down his family with this whole mess, but now the _glee club_? He'd _have_ to tell them about the baby now – they would have to find a replacement for him and _fast_. Nationals were in a month. "I'm screwing this up for everyone," he mumbled, his head leaning against the car's window.

"It'll all work out," Kurt said sadly.

Sam wasn't so sure.


	5. Chapter 5

He managed to make it through the next few weeks without much incident. Kurt was still unhappy that Sam was keeping everything a secret, but he respected it. Blaine was still freaking out about the whole mess, but apparently Wes and his gavel had struck fear into the boy and he was at least singing all the solos again.

Sam couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he had another doctor's appointment after school and what if he wasn't allowed to fly to Nationals? What would happen to the glee club? They were rehearsing for Nationals and he was learning the routine pretty well considering he just wanted to lie down and take a nap (his back was killing him _already_!). "Sam! To the left not the right!" Mr. Schue called above the piano.

Everyone kept dancing around him and his brain could only focus on the fact that he needed a break. His feet stumbled together and Sam found himself tumbling to the ground. The wind was knocked out of him and he just sat on the floor for a minute. Kurt was first to his side, asking him over and over again if he was okay. Sam couldn't think, though. He just sort of rolled over onto his back and tried to catch his breath.

Santana pushed through the crowd first and Mr. Schue knelt down next to him, suggesting Sam went to the nurse. "No," he said, his voice hoarse.

Kurt helped Sam sit up and his hands instantly flew to his stomach. Santana stared up at Kurt, who watched Sam in silent worry. He was going to give away the secret he was so determined to keep. "Sam, what's going on?" Quinn asked, raising her eyebrow.

Sam stared up at Kurt, pleading for some sort of help or answer, but Kurt didn't know what to do. He just shrugged and watched as Sam stood slowly. "I'm just gonna go to the nurse," he said softly.

The blonde stood and left without another word. Everyone stared at each other for a few seconds, not quite sure what had just happened. After rehearsal Santana pulled Kurt to the side. "He's gotta go see my dad now," she said quickly. "Did you see how he landed on the floor?"

Kurt nodded and said, "I can skip my classes and bring him over. Will your dad be available to see him?"

"I'll make him available," she said seriously. "This could be bad."

Santana followed Kurt all the way down to the nurse's office, talking quickly with her father on her cell phone as she did so. When they reached the nurse's office, Mr. Schuester and Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell were already hanging over him. "We're taking him to the doctor," Santana said, pushing through them like they were nobody of importance.

"Santana, we know what's going on," Mr. Schuester said, trying to keep her calm.

"You do?" Kurt asked nervously.

His eyes met with Sam's and the blonde looked just as confused as the other two teens. "Sam has an eating disorder," Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell said seriously, holding out a pamphlet to him. "I set up a meeting with him in my office this afternoon."

"No," Santana shook her head. "That's now what's going on and you guys are idiots for thinking so."

"Santana!" Mr. Schuester cried out defensively.

She looked around the nurse's office for strangers before saying, "Sam here is knocked up, and that fall could have hurt the baby, so we're going to take him to my dad to make sure he and the baby are okay."

The adults exchanged confused glances and Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell said, "Santana, boys can't carry babies."

"I can," Sam said weakly from the cot he was lying on. He lifted up his sweatshirt to reveal the bulge. "I like, absorbed my twin sister or something and now I'm pregnant and Santana's right…I should go to the doctor."

Mr. Schuester looked like he wanted to say something, but just nodded and let the two take Sam away. They walked through the halls as inconspicuously as possible, but when they walked past Tina and Mike, they got strange, suspicious looks. "You should tell everyone soon, Sam," Santana said as they walked through the parking lot to Kurt's Navigator. "They're getting suspicious."

He sighed and climbed into the car, resting his head back on the seat. "Later," he said weakly.

Sam really was exhausted and he just wanted to forget about this whole mess. He was only at fourteen weeks and life already sucked. He couldn't imagine it all getting worse – or his belly getting any bigger. It was already _huge_ and he felt like a freak, even though he covered it well.

Santana's dad was waiting for them when they got to the office and he led them to a room immediately. Sam rested back on the bed, his sweatshirt up above his stomach again, the ultrasound machine doing its job. The heartbeat was still there, the baby was still there, and Sam thought it was all going well. "Well, it looks like the baby's heartbeat is a little low. For now you should be okay if you cut back on physical activity," Dr. Lopez said.

"Cut back? I'm already only going to school and doing glee club," Sam said.

Dr. Lopez sighed and said, "I'd suggest not doing the choreography for glee club. It's not good for the baby and one more fall like this could hurt the baby."

"I can't do that to everyone," Sam said sadly.

"You'll still be able to sing, though," Kurt told him softly.

Sam just turned to glare at Kurt before sighing and asking, "There are no other options?"

Santana watched as Sam slowly accepted his fate. This whole mess was affecting the glee club and effectively ruining his life. He looked so close to tears, too, it kind of broke her heart. "Come on, Sam, let's get you home," she said quietly.

She exchanged a sympathetic look with her father and led him from the office. Dr. Lopez handed Kurt a new sonogram on the way out and said, "I'm so sorry for all of you in the glee club. I know this is a big deal for everyone. I wish there was another way."

"I know," Kurt nodded quietly.

He left the office and climbed into his Navigator where Santana and Sam sat in the back seat, Sam's head on her shoulder, his hand clasped with hers. Kurt drove Santana back to school before going back to his house with Sam still sitting in the backseat. "Sam, I…" Kurt began as he climbed out of the car.

Sam just walked right past him and up to Finn's room. Burt and Carole sat in the dining room eating lunch. "You boys are back early," Burt said with a raised eyebrow.

"He fell in glee club today," Kurt said sadly, joining them at the table. "We took him to the doctor because he was in pain and Dr. Lopez said Sam couldn't dance anymore. He won't even let me talk to him he's so upset."

"It's the baby hormones," Carole told him with a frown. "They make everything worse. Maybe I'll try talking to him."

Kurt nodded as she stood from the table and went upstairs. "He uh…he still doesn't know who the dad is?" Burt asked awkwardly.

Kurt shook his head slowly and said, "We have an idea, but he doesn't want to talk to anybody else about it so we don't know for sure."

"You kids really did go crazy that night," Burt said with a dry laugh. "You're sure it wasn't you?"

"_Dad!"_ Kurt shrieked.

"Just checking," Burt held up his hands defensively.

Kurt sighed and pulled his sleeves over his hands. "He thinks it might be Blaine. I think so too but we won't know unless he lets me ask the other kids in glee club what they did that night, if they even remember."

"You mean Finn still doesn't know?"

Kurt shook his head and couldn't help but feel guilty. He wanted to tell Finn, the guy deserved to know if he was _housing_ the pregnant guy in his room, but he couldn't. It was Sam's story to tell. "That's Sam's story to tell," Kurt said simply.

"And you boys are sure it wasn't Finn?" Burt pressed.

Kurt looked exasperated. "Dad, it definitely _wasn't_ Finn. He is straight and he stayed sober that night. There's no way it was him."

Burt raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word. It all made sense, he supposed. He'd catch Finn staring at Sam strangely sometimes, but he assumed it was because the boy was keeping such a huge secret. It was becoming more and more obvious that Sam was pregnant, and there was only so long they could keep it from Finn. Burt just hoped that Sam told Finn before someone else did – he'd seen one of Finn's temper tantrums before and they were _not_ pretty, and that was coming from the father of _Kurt Hummel_.

Up in Finn's room, Sam stood staring at his reflection in the mirror. He had shed his sweatshirt and his hands trailed across his belly absentmindedly. "You're messing everything up," he mumbled down at his stomach. "First my life, now the glee club. You'd better be worth it, baby…"

Carole knocked on the door, pretending she'd just approached and hadn't heard a word he'd said. Sam panicked and reached out for his sweatshirt, pulling it over his head before shouting at Carole that she could come in. "Hey," she said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I could be better," he said, fixing his hair and sitting on the spare bed they set up for him.

She gave him a sympathetic smile and sat on Finn's bed, opposite Sam. "Pregnancy isn't fun sometimes," she admitted. He rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement. "I can't imagine being in your situation, but I'd like to help if I can."

"I just hate that I'm such a freak," he said sadly. "I'm a dude and I'm pregnant. I don't even know who the dad is. That's really bad."

"Kurt and Finn told me about that night – you all got out of control and no doubt learned your lesson," Carole said calmly. "I'm not saying you aren't responsible for this, but mistakes happen. A lot of times children aren't exactly planned." She let out a small laugh and said, "Finn was conceived on a pinball machine for goodness sakes! But you're bringing a new life into this world and that's exciting, Sam."

He looked up at her, his expression blank. "I don't even know if I want to keep it," he admitted.

"That's okay," Carole said. "You still have some time to decide. Whatever you choose, I want you to know that we all support you here, Sam. I'm sorry your own family isn't the same way."

"Thanks," Sam said sadly. "I think I should just try to figure out who the father is, though, and see what he wants."

She nodded and said, "Well, take your time. We're here for you, Sam."

Sam sent her a grateful smile but couldn't find words to say. It was all so overwhelming, and granted half of it was the pregnancy, but Sam just didn't want to deal with it anymore. He rested back on the bed and ended up falling asleep, not waking up until Finn walked in after school. "Hey," Finn said nervously.

"Hi," Sam said quietly, adjusting his sweatshirt absentmindedly over his stomach.

"Are you okay?" Finn asked. "That fall looked kinda rough today in glee club."

Sitting up, Sam nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. It just knocked the wind out of me."

Finn nodded and set his book bag down by his desk. "Sam, what are you hiding from everyone?" he asked finally, turning around to face the blonde.

Sam stared fearfully up at Finn for a minute before sighing and saying, "I'm a freak and I'd rather people didn't know."

Curiously Finn sat on the edge of his bed and stared over at Sam. "What do you mean?" he asked. "We're in glee club, we're _all_ freaks."

He laughed a little, but it faded when Sam looked up sadly. "No, I mean…I'm a freak," he stood up and lifted his sweatshirt over his belly, revealing the bulge.

His stomach was obviously concave and when he turned to the side Finn just stared, confused. "Do you have like…a tumor or something?" he asked slowly.

Sam sighed and said, defeated, "I'm pregnant, Finn."

Finn's eyes grew wide and he stared up at Sam who stood nervously in front of him. When Finn wasn't about to say anything, Sam lowered his sweatshirt over his stomach and left, the embarrassed flush turning his face bright red. Finn's mind raced a thousand miles a minute. Dudes _didn't_ get pregnant – they _couldn't_. It didn't make sense.

At dinner Finn couldn't keep his eyes from Sam's belly. Sam pointedly avoided looking in Finn's direction and ate as quickly as he could to get away. It made everyone at the table uncomfortable and afterwards, Kurt volunteered himself and Finn to clean up. As they put the dishes away, Kurt hissed, "You could try to be a little less…strange about the situation."

"It's weird, Kurt," Finn replied defensively. "Sam's a _dude_."

"Yeah, I got that," Kurt nodded. "But do you realize what he's dealing with? He got kicked out because of it and this is super rare and potentially harmful to him and the baby and on top of everything else _he doesn't even know who the father is_!"

Finn froze and turned to him. "Really?" he asked.

Kurt nodded and put the last mug away before turning and saying, "You should try and make him feel more normal, okay? This is really hard on him and I don't want him to be upset for the next five months."

Kurt walked away, leaving Finn in the kitchen, alone to his thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day in glee club, Kurt was surprised to see Sam standing at the front of the classroom next to Mr. Schuester. He shuffled nervously from one foot to the other as Mr. Schue got things started. He said that Sam had something he wanted to tell everyone and instantly Kurt wished he'd talked to Sam before this. It wasn't going to be easy. Sam stopped forward nervously and looked up at everyone. "I uh…I kind of lied yesterday," he said softly.

"Lied about what?" Tina asked.

Instead of speaking, Sam unzipped his puffy vest and took it off, standing there in nothing but his plaid button down shirt. The buttons were stretched around his stomach; he wouldn't be able to wear the shirt much longer. "So you gained weight," Lauren shrugged from the corner. "It happens to the best of us."

Finn and Kurt sat quietly on one side of the room, watching as other people in the glee club started thinking other things. Unsurprising to everyone, Quinn was first to speak up, "You look pregnant."

Sam nodded and looked at her seriously. Her eyes widened and many members of the glee club looked absolutely confused. "Before I was born I had a twin. Instead of surviving my body kind of…absorbed hers. I have girl parts and guy parts," he said, a flush covering his face. "I'm pregnant and I'm due in November."

"When did this even happen?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I thought you were straight," Quinn said defensively.

Sam sighed. "I don't know what I am, but I uh…it happened at Rachel's party all those months ago," he shrugged, embarrassed. "I just…thought it was time you guys knew."

"Who's the baby daddy?" Puck asked from the back next to Lauren.

The look on his face was filled with concern. "I don't know, but uh…I don't think it's yours," Sam blushed.

Kurt stepped forward and put an arm around Sam, leading him off to the side where he and Finn were sitting. "That's enough of that," Kurt said. "You told them all and that's what matters. Who the father is doesn't matter right now."

"It does if it was one of us," Mike spoke up.

Mr. Schuester stepped in and said, "Guys, you can talk about this later. Sam said when he needed to and now we need to practice for Nationals. Now, because of Sam's condition, it's been suggested that he not dance. We have a little revamping we need to do of the choreography today."

There were some grumbles in the chairs behind him and Sam slumped in his seat. He _knew_ they weren't going to like that part of it all. The rest of practice Sam sat off to the side with not even _Artie_ to talk to. It sucked, and he was more than ready to go home when Kurt walked up to his locker that afternoon. "Well, I think we've narrowed it down to Blaine," Kurt sighed. "Tina says that she and Mike were together the whole night."

Sam let out a sigh. In a way he was relieved that it was Blaine – he was a nice enough guy and he wasn't bad looking. It just sucked that he was Kurt's boyfriend. Not that Sam really wanted to date the guy or anything, but – it made everything a lot more complicated, adding Kurt to the mix. "So now what?" Sam asked hesitantly. "He's your boyfriend."

"I know that," Kurt nodded. "But that doesn't mean he shouldn't know about any of this. I can handle this Sam. You don't have feelings for him, do you?"

"No," Sam said, laughing a little. "I still don't even know if I really like guys or not."

"My point exactly," Kurt replied. "You two just…you're connected by this is all. And hey, if Blaine was going to be a baby daddy for anyone, I'm glad it's you. At least I know I like you already."

Sam laughed and said, "Thanks?"

"Come on," Kurt said, tugging at Sam's backpack that was slung over his shoulder. "Let's go. Maybe Blaine can come over and we can get this whole awkward confession thing out of the way."

As much as Sam thought he should be nervous about it all, Kurt's calm, casual nature made him feel more at ease. Blaine already kind of thought it was his – the confession wouldn't be a huge shock. Plus having Kurt there would make things easier.

They got to Kurt's house and Sam started rifling through the cupboards before settling on a bag of Cheetos. Kurt raised an eyebrow at how eager Sam was to eat them. "Hey, I'm really hungry right now," Sam said defensively.

"As long as you don't get cravings for ice cream and pickles or something gross like that, I'll be fine," Kurt laughed.

He looked down at his phone and said, "Blaine's going to come over for dinner. Then you guys can talk and stuff."

Sam sighed. The looming fear of telling Blaine something like this wouldn't go away, and suddenly Sam wasn't as hungry for those Cheetos anymore. Kurt must have noticed because he said, "Everything will be okay. I don't even think dad will make you leave because you shouldn't switch schools so late in the school year."

Sam wanted to be comforted, but it was all so confusing. His family didn't want him, and what if Blaine didn't, either? Or worse, what if Kurt stopped talking to him because he got jealous that Sam had to move in with Blaine (if he even had to)? His mind reeled and he sat numbly in front of the TV as he waited for Blaine to arrive. When he did, the jitters just got worse – Blaine looked so _scared_.

"Hey, Blaine," Kurt smiled.

"Hi," he replied nervously, walking inside slowly.

Once he was through the door, Blaine looked up and locked eyes with Sam. It was intense and awkward and a million other things all at once. Sam just wanted to crawl under a rock and die. "Blaine, you remember Sam," Kurt said, ushering his boyfriend to the living room where Sam currently sat, alone.

Blaine nodded and waved awkwardly at Sam as he sat on the chair next to the couch. Kurt watched them both expectantly, waiting for another word to be said. "So uh…how are you doing?" Blaine asked.

His eyes lingered on Sam's stomach before traveling back up to his eyes. "I could be better, but I could be worse," Sam shrugged.

"I heard you're pregnant," Blaine said slowly.

Sam's head swam and he couldn't believe Blaine just got to it like that. He just nodded and said softly, "Yeah."

Blaine and Sam just looked at each other for a moment and Kurt sat back; he had to let them do this on their own. "I uh…I think it might be yours," Sam said nervously.

His voice shook and he would rather be anywhere but there at that moment, but it happened – it was out there and that was what was important. Blaine looked surprised, but nodded and said, "Um…well, that's good to know."

Sam just nodded as well. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do or say now. "It's due in November," he offered, looking up at Blaine. "I have some sonograms upstairs if you want to see."

Blaine looked more terrified, but he nodded and said, "Yeah I'd…I'd like that."

Sam stood from the couch, not sure if Blaine was going to follow him or just stay there. When the boy didn't move, Sam went upstairs to Finn's room where he was currently playing video games. "Oh hey," he said absentmindedly.

"Hey," Sam said, shuffling through his tiny pile of medicines and sonograms by his bed. It was the strangest array of things to be seen next to a teenage boy's bed but so was Sam's life.

"Grab a controller, we'll play versus," Finn said quickly, slapping his fingers on the buttons violently.

"Sorry, dude, I'm hanging out with Kurt and Blaine right now," Sam said awkwardly, sonograms in hand as he walked towards the door.

Finn didn't pause the game; he just watched through the corner of his eye as Sam left the room looking nervous as hell. Sure, Finn died a few times in the game because he wasn't paying attention, but something was going on. He'd figure out what it was – after this round.

Downstairs, Sam became awkward all over again. He almost wished he would have just stayed upstairs and joined Finn on xbox. Instead he walked over to where he'd been sitting before and handed the sonograms to Blaine. The boy just looked down at them in awe. "This is so unreal," he said, his voice amazed as he looked between them.

Sam just nodded. If Blaine thought it was unreal, he should try being in Sam's shoes. More kids were starting to look at him weird; they could tell something was up and if Sam didn't try harder to hide it, people would find out. Then the whole city would know how much of a freak he was and he couldn't have that. "Can I come with to your next appointment?" Blaine asked.

He looked timid and watched Sam nervously. Sam looked over at Kurt, who nodded earnestly. "Uh…yeah, if you want to," Sam shrugged. "It's not really that exciting. Every time I go back they just tell me more things I can't do."

"But you get to hear the heartbeat," Kurt spoke up. "And you can see it moving."

"I have my fourteen week checkup next Tuesday," Sam said. "It's at 4:30."

"I'll be there," Blaine said, a nervous smile on his face.

Sam felt better about it all after that; Blaine wasn't _totally_ freaked out, which was a good thing. Not to mention he seemed pretty interested in the baby. It was all much more than Sam expected at least. The best part was, by the time Blaine left after dinner, things weren't even awkward. It didn't feel like Sam was knocked up by Kurt's boyfriend – they just felt like friends. Not weird threesome "friends," just friends. Finn kept looking at them strangely, like he thought they were all more than friends, but he didn't say anything. Once Blaine left he invited Sam upstairs to play video games and everything seemed normal again.

Sam fell into a routine in the Hummel-Hudson house. He'd do homework with Kurt (and sometimes Blaine), and he'd sit around playing video games with Finn in his free time. Sometimes he and Finn would watch a game with Burt, and once Sam went shopping with Kurt for fun. It was nice, and Sam was beginning to feel like part of the family.

When his next doctor's appointment rolled around, Sam wasn't nervous about it at all. Blaine was there with him (without Kurt, even) and he was more relaxed than he'd been in a while. He'd been taking all the medicines the doctor told him to and he stopped dancing in glee club. Everything was going according to plan, or so he thought.

Blaine sat anxiously at Sam's side as he rested back on the cot once again. It was all becoming so routine to the blonde. His stomach protruded a little more than last time, but just barely. Blaine insisted it still wasn't that big (his older step-sister just had a baby and she was _huge_), but Sam felt self-conscious anyway. When Dr. Lopez walked in, Sam was ready. He didn't even flinch when the gel was put on his stomach.

Big brown eyes watched the screen from over Sam's body, staring in amazement at the little baby. Dr. Lopez pointed out the head and feet to Blaine, who sat in awe. Then the doctor took all the measurements before shutting off the machine and letting Sam wash himself up. "Well, it looks like the baby is still doing okay, but the heart rate is still a little low," Dr. Lopez said. "I'd like to put you on bed rest for the remainder of the week and have you come in again on Saturday morning, just to be sure. That should be enough right now."

"Wait – so is the baby okay?" Blaine asked, panicked.

"Right now, yes," Dr. Lopez nodded. "It's developing fairly well; a little small, but that's to be expected. We just want to be sure all of Sam's energy is being put towards developing a healthy baby. As of right now, the bed rest will only be temporary."

"What if it doesn't help?" Sam spoke up, his voice soft and trembling slightly.

With a sigh, Dr. Lopez said, "If not, then it means you're at high risk of a miscarriage. It's usually unlikely at this stage of pregnancy but we can't rule it out. Male pregnancies are very risky and we will need to take every precaution to make this one a success."

Sam sighed and nodded. He didn't say a word the entire way back to Kurt's house. Blaine wanted to go inside and try to comfort Sam, but he promised his parents he'd be home for dinner and it was already later than he thought. "It's going to be okay, Sam," he said as they pulled up outside the Hudson-Hummel house.

Sam didn't reply. He climbed out of the car and walked away without a single look back. Without even acknowledging anyone around him, Sam walked inside and up to Finn's room. He crawled under the covers of his bed and curled up on his side.

Downstairs Kurt called Blaine for an explanation to tell his parents, but upstairs Finn just stared down at the blonde, confused and worried. He set down his controller and turned his full attention to Sam. "Hey man, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

"'m on bed rest," he mumbled angrily.

"Why?" Finn asked.

He waited impatiently for Sam to summon the courage to tell him (if he would at all). Finally a weak, shaking voice spoke up, "I might miscarry if I don't."

Finn froze and stared down at Sam. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do, especially since it sounded like the guy was crying. Finn couldn't really handle crying, no matter who it was. He awkwardly turned back to his video game, turning it up just enough to drown out the sounds of his friend's sobs.


	7. Chapter 7

It was Friday night and Sam was beyond restless. He was ready to just get up and go back to school, baby bump or not. Finn had been bringing him his meals whenever he could, and most of the time Carole was home on a lunch break to bring him food then. Sam was really well taken care of, but he needed to _move_. Sitting idly around wasn't cutting it for him. He found himself sitting around Finn's room anyway, playing xbox.

Downstairs Kurt and Finn were preparing dinner. Tension was high and Finn couldn't really figure out why; Kurt just kept giving him funny looks and almost _glaring _at him. "You know, you're not being very nice about this whole thing," Kurt said to Finn as they made grilled cheese in the kitchen.

Finn found himself cornered by Kurt the second he stepped into the kitchen. "I bring him food, and his homework," Finn said lamely.

"He needs _acceptance_, Finn," Kurt said simply.

He pulled out more bread and handed it to Finn, who was putting butter and cheese on it. "I just think it's a little weird that he's a dude and he's pregnant," Finn admitted nonchalantly. "Not to mention the father is Blaine. Like, are you guys _sure_ about that?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow and stopped everything he was doing to turn to Finn curiously. "Do you know something that we might want to know?" he asked.

Finn's eyes got shifty and he started to get nervous. "What do you know that we don't, Finn?" Kurt pressed.

He stepped closer to Finn, spatula in hand. He held it up to Finn's face and swung it as he said, "You need to tell me _this instant_."

With a shrug, Finn said, "Well, it's just that Sam was disappearing with a lot of different people that night."

He couldn't meet Kurt's eyes and Kurt thought for a split second that there was more to it than that, but instead he just asked, "Who did he run off with, then?"

"Well, he and Puck and Mike were all really cuddly. It was weird," Finn said. Kurt was tired of this borderline homophobia – he needed the facts and _soon_ because if his boyfriend was going through all this for nothing? Well, then there'd just be hell to pay. "They went upstairs to Rachel's room for a while before Blaine and Sam disappeared into the bathroom."

"Tina told me that Mike was with her the whole time," Kurt said, an eyebrow still raised.

With a sigh, Finn turned to Kurt and asked, "You really think she remembers _everything_ from that night? I sure as hell don't. I don't think _anyone_ except you and I remember that night."

Kurt looked annoyed but turned back to making dinner. He still thought Finn was hiding something from him, but he couldn't really figure out _what_. They finished preparing dinner in silence and didn't speak the rest of the night. As Finn and Sam were lying in the dark though, Sam was surprised by the soft lull of Finn's half-asleep voice when he said, "I hope you and the baby are okay."

Sam couldn't quite believe he'd heard Finn say that, but it spoke volumes. The past few days he'd been terrified that Finn just didn't care. Finn didn't seem like that kind of guy, but he couldn't help but think of the worst case scenario in everything. "Thanks," he whispered.

Finn shuffled around in his bed and soon Sam heard the familiar snores of his friend. Sam drifted off to sleep easily that night; it was surprisingly easy not to worry about the baby and whether it would be okay.

_Skin rubbed against hot skin as their bodies moved together. They were synchronous, all thoughts focused on the other; all he could do was feel and it felt _amazing_. The boy kept his face buried in Sam's neck, nipping at his collarbone, the straight brown hair tickling his neck just so. Sam groaned and clung to the body, strong and protective, above him. He felt so content in that moment; his brain spun with how amazing it all felt._

_The boy locked eyes with Sam but his face was masked by the darkness. Their lips met and Sam felt the whole world melt away around him. His breath hitched in his throat and before he knew it, his stomach was drenched in white hot liquid, the other boy letting out a low groan that echoed in his ears as he reached the same inevitable end._

Sam sat up in bed quickly, ignoring the hardness in his pants for the more pressing matter – he had remembered _more_. He glanced over at the clock just to see that it was seven thirty in the morning. Nobody else would be awake at this hour except for maybe Burt. There was no way Kurt would be okay with Sam rushing across the tell him. Nor did Sam want to risk getting up and running while he was still on bed rest.

As Sam rolled over, he replayed the dream over and over in his head; more details stuck out each time. The guy had straight hair – but Blaine didn't. Sam's stomach sank and he realized that he may have spoken too soon. It _couldn't_ be Blaine's – not if his memory served him correctly. Who else had straight hair?

Well, Mike did, but Tina said he'd been with her the whole night. It couldn't have been Mike. It wasn't Puck – he had a mohawk and the boy in the dream had a full head of hair. That just left Finn, and he'd been ruled out from the very beginning. It had to be Mike then. He must have snuck away from Tina for a quickie or something – that was the only explanation.

Instead of telling Blaine when he showed up that day, Sam kept quiet. It felt nice to walk further than down the hall to the bathroom. They made casual conversation and talked about the weather and finals and Nationals, but not the baby. It was always awkward when someone brought up the baby. They got to the office and Dr. Lopez did another checkup. Sam's heart raced with anxiety as he waited for the verdict. "Well, it looks like your bed rest paid off. The heart rate is higher. It's not as high as it should be, but we're in the clear. A few more weeks of as little movement as possible and your little one will be back on track," he smiled.

Relief washed through Sam and he let out a sigh. He couldn't stop the grin from crossing his face, either, and Blaine absolutely glowed from his side. "Unfortunately, I don't think you'll be well enough to fly to New York with the rest of the group," Mr. Lopez frowned. "It would be far too risky, especially with the baby's heart rate being so unstable at the moment."

Sam couldn't even be bothered by the news right now; he was just happy that the baby was _okay_. Even that was surprising, though, because a few weeks ago he'd cursed the very existence of it. "We'll see you in two weeks, then," Dr. Lopez said when he didn't get a reply.

"Two weeks," Sam smiled, standing from the table.

Blaine followed him happily out of the clinic and out to his BMW. "Do you want to go get some lunch?" Blaine asked nervously as they climbed into the car.

Without even a second thought to Kurt or the strange relationship the three of them had, Sam nodded, "I'd like that."

They sat down for lunch at a 24-hour breakfast spot and ordered – Sam got French toast and Blaine ordered an omelet. "I'm so happy the baby is okay," Sam smiled, cutting into his food.

"I am too," Blaine replied earnestly. "But um…what are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, his mouth full.

Blaine laughed a little at how boyish Sam was asking before explaining, "Well, are you keeping it?"

Sam swallowed and looked over at Blaine seriously. "I uh…I don't know," he admitted.

"Well," Blaine said slowly. "If you want to keep it, I'm okay with that. I'll help and everything."

Sam stared up at Blaine, not quite sure he was hearing him correctly. Blaine wanted to keep it? He wasn't even sure Blaine was the father and here he was, offering to help raise this baby. "I um," Sam said, taking a drink of his orange juice. His voice quivered as he said, "I don't know what I'm doing yet, but I uh…I appreciate that a lot. Really."

Blaine nodded and returned to his own meal. Things were awkward after that; Sam wasn't quite sure he should say he was second guessing himself, and Blaine didn't really know what to do either. He thought offering to help take care of the baby was what he was supposed to do. Yes, he really did want to keep it, but he hadn't expected such a distant reaction from the blonde.

Blaine drove Sam back to the Hummel-Hudson house in silence. Sam got out with nothing but a curt "Goodbye."

Sad eyes watched as Sam rushed inside; Blaine didn't even know what he'd done wrong.

When he got inside, Sam greeted everyone with smiles. "I'm okay," he said. "So is the baby. I have to take it easy like all the time, but we're going to be okay."

Carole beamed and pulled him into a hug. Kurt stepped in after that, ushering Sam upstairs, a grin on his face. "Are you okay to fly then, too?" he asked.

Sam's smile fell and he sighed, "Well, no, I can't do that, but at least we're okay, you know?"

"Of course," Kurt nodded seriously.

Sam sat on the foot of Kurt's bed and he said, "I remembered more. It was in my dream last night; the guy was there and it was…well, it was…"

"Got it."

Both boys blushed and Sam took a moment before continuing, "I really hate myself for saying this, but I don't think it was Blaine after all.

Kurt stared at Sam for a moment, his jaw dropped only slightly. "What makes you say that?" he asked slowly.

Sam didn't speak right away. He took a deep breath and began slowly, "Well, in the dream, we were…you know…" Kurt nodded. "Well, he was there and it was like I could feel him. His hair was soft and it was straight, like Mike's or Finn's. He was bigger than me, too."

Kurt was silent as he thought about it all. Was his boyfriend really going through all this for nothing? Barely over a year ago Finn had been dealing with the same thing – thinking a baby was his when it wasn't. It hurt the guy a lot and Kurt wasn't going to sit by and let Blaine go through the same thing. "Well, do you know for sure?" he asked.

"Well no," Sam frowned. "I even looked at him, but it was too dark to see his face."

"What do you remember?" Kurt pressed.

"Just that his hair was straight and he was bigger than me," Sam repeated, sounding a little annoyed. "I don't know what else. He was a really good kisser? That's all I know. The dream didn't last very long."

Kurt bit his lip and thought about it all for a moment. Blaine's hair was soft, he knew that much. Maybe Sam was just confusing everything in his head? "Well, I think it's best we not worry about it for now," Kurt sighed. "We just need to wait for a while and hope you have more of these flashback things."

Sam gave Kurt a small smile and said, "Yeah, that's a good idea."

"Besides, we have Nationals to worry about – we need to get you there somehow!" Kurt said.

Sam's smile fell but Kurt would have none of it. They'd find a way to get Sam to New York to compete – he wouldn't take no for an answer.


	8. Chapter 8

Kurt sat around the choir room impatiently; they still had twenty minutes before first period – he'd have plenty of time to tell them what he needed to before anyone got suspicious. Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Artie, Mike, Tina, and Mercedes filed in. "What's going on?" Tina asked curiously.

Quinn just looked annoyed but kept her mouth shut. "We have a problem," Kurt said simply.

They all exchanged worried glances before Mercedes asked, "What kind of a problem?"

"Santana's dad said Sam isn't allowed to fly – he's been having problems with the baby's heart rate and it's too dangerous for him to take a plane to New York," Kurt explained. "We need to figure out a way to get him there or he can't compete."

"So he can't compete," Quinn shrugged.

Kurt stared up at her incredulously; at least she looked guilty – what she'd said had been extremely rude, in Kurt's opinion. "I could ask my dad if he could ride with us," Artie offered.

Of course – why hadn't he thought of it before? Artie was driving to New York a few days early with his dad because he didn't want to go through the hassle of flying with his wheelchair. "You think he'd be okay with that?" Tina asked cautiously.

"We're going that way anyway," Artie shrugged. "I don't see why having one more person in the car would be a big deal."

Kurt beamed and said, "If you can, that solves our first problem."

Artie pulled out his phone and began typing a text message immediately. "What's the other problem?" Santana asked.

It wasn't a problem, per say, but he needed to find out more, so Kurt said, "Sam still isn't sure who the father is…"

"Wait," Santana interrupted. "I thought he said it was Blaine?"

"Well, that's what he thinks, but he's deciding that based on memories and flashbacks from that night, and he was pretty drunk, so how do we know they're even true?" Kurt asked. "He seemed so sure that it was Blaine and now he's not."

"So get a paternity test," Quinn suggested.

"Costs too much," Tina countered immediately.

"She's right," Santana added. "And my dad isn't gonna do that one for free."

Kurt waited for any other argument before saying, "I can only remember so much from that night – I didn't drink but you guys were kind of crazy. Instead, I'm just going to ask you all questions."

"Like _we _remember?" Santana asked.

"It's little things that could make a difference," Kurt shrugged.

"Well, Mike was with me the whole night so it couldn't have been him," Tina reached out for his hand instinctively.

Mike didn't say a word. He looked rather uncomfortable, actually. "Finn said he left your side for a while," Kurt challenged.

"It's true. You weren't there when they were making out," Brittany said simply.

Everyone turned to look at Brittany. Mike's face flushed bright red and Kurt asked, "Um…what?"

"Yeah," Brittany shrugged. "I was upstairs in Rachel's room looking for a pole in her closet. Mike and Puck and Sam went up to her room and made out. They stopped when I fell over, though, and then they left. When I got downstairs they were there."

There was a pregnant pause before Santana asked incredulously, "Three guys were making out and you didn't bother to _tell_ me!"

"Sam was your boyfriend," Brittany pointed out. "I didn't want him to get yelled at for cheating. And it was hot."

Santana looked ready to argue, but Tina spoke up, "Okay, so he disappeared for a bit. He didn't have sex with Sam though so it's still not Mike."

"Well then when did Blaine and Sam hook up?" Mercedes asked. "I don't really remember anything after karaoke."

"I heard them puking in the bathroom," Santana offered. "That was like right before Finn and Kurt brought everyone home."

"It had to be sometime then," Tina shrugged.

"Gross," Kurt winced.

"I'm pretty sure they didn't have sex in there," Santana countered. "I followed them to the door and Sam shut it in my face. Then all I heard was puking and then they left."

They all exchanged confused glances; if they didn't have sex in the bathroom and Sam was with other people the rest of the night, how could it possibly be Blaine's? Wait, if Sam's whole night was accounted for, then…

"Wait," Kurt said quickly. "If Sam was with you until after karaoke," he pointed to Santana, "And he only made out with Puck and Mike," he glanced at Brittany, who nodded, "And they were just throwing up in the bathroom," he looked back at Santana, who nodded, "And after that we brought everyone home, then that means Sam didn't have sex that night."

"But when else would he…?" Santana trailed off.

"Oh my gosh," Quinn said with an incredulous laugh.

"Sam's a dolphin too!" Brittany smiled.

She looked so proud of herself, but Kurt couldn't help but feel a little betrayed. If Sam hadn't slept with anyone that night, it meant he did it before that, _sober_. They may not have been friends before the whole baby mess but sleeping with a different guy might have been an important piece of information. Now Blaine was going through all of this for _no reason_ and Kurt knew it for sure.

He planned to ask Sam about it later that night and ended their little meeting in the choir room. He left first, storming down the hall to his first period class, purposely avoiding Sam. If he ran into Sam he'd just blow up and make things much worse than they needed to be. Everyone else filed out slowly after him and went to their first class of the day. They didn't end up all together again until glee club where Sam stood at the front of the classroom again. "What is it now?" Santana asked, annoyed.

Kurt turned and glared at her before turning to Sam. The blonde looked nervous again and he had his hands stuffed in his pockets. "So…" he said slowly. "I know Nationals is in a week and stuff, but the doctor said I can't fly, so I uh…I won't be able to go."

"Ride with me," Artie spoke up instantly.

Sam looked up at the boy quickly. Artie shrugged and said, "Yeah, Kurt said something to me earlier and I already asked my dad. He said it's cool. We're driving out there a few days before everyone else flies out."

Kurt watched Sam, hoping for a smile. Instead he was met with a glare. It only lasted a split second before Sam turned to Artie with a forced smile and said, "Sweet. Well uh…never mind then."

"Great!" Mr. Schuester said. "I'm glad we got that all worked out! Now, we need to get practicing. We fly out on Friday and our last group rehearsal is tomorrow so we need to get to work."

Rehearsal went well, but Sam looked more annoyed than usual. He didn't talk to Kurt the whole ride home and disappeared into Finn's room to play xbox as soon as they got back. "What did you do to him?" Finn asked.

"Tactful, Finn," Kurt rolled his eyes.

He set his book bag down in the living room and said, "I don't know what he's upset about."

"Well maybe you should just apologize," Finn suggested.

Kurt glared at him and said defensively, "I'm capable of solving my own problems, thank you very much."

Finn looked put out and muttered, "I'm just trying to help."

"You could help by not treating him like he's some sort of freak," Kurt shot. "He's _pregnant_ Finn, not sick with some deadly, contagious disease."

Finn just stared at Kurt for a moment, almost surprised that he'd call him out like that. Without a word he turned and went up to his room. "Hey," he said as soon as he walked in.

Sam offered a half-hearted hello as he shot at whatever creatures were attacking him on the screen. "Can we talk?" Finn asked.

With a sigh, Sam pressed pause and turned to Finn. "What?" he asked.

His face was emotionless and it freaked Finn out a little bit. "I uh…" Finn began nervously; Sam's gaze was intimidating. "I noticed you were upset. What's wrong?"

"I'm fine," Sam said flatly, turning back to the TV.

"No you're not," Finn replied instantly before Sam had a chance to un-pause the game.

Sam sat there for a minute, fuming. Finn had barely spoken to him since the whole baby mess; how did he expect Sam to just open up and spill all his secrets? It wasn't going to happen. Then he felt a weight next to him on the bed and he suddenly felt claustrophobic. Finn was so close; it was wrong. It got Sam's heart racing and he felt himself giving in. "It's just…" he started slowly. He felt a blush creeping upon his cheeks and pointedly stared at the floor. "Kurt keeps doing everything for me. I'm having a baby, I think I can take care of myself."

"What has he done for you?" Finn asked.

His voice was soft and much too close to Sam's ear for comfort. "I could find my own way to Nationals, I didn't need his help. And he keeps pushing me to figure out who the dad is, all because of Blaine, and I really just want to get through this," Sam said quickly; it was like a dam was breaking and it felt _so good_ to get it all out. "I mean, I get that he's worried about his boyfriend but _seriously_? I don't really care that much who the father is because it was an accident anyway. I just want to make sure the baby lives, even if it _was_ an accident."

"It's going to live," Finn said instantly.

"Really? Because I'm barely four months in to this pregnancy and I was already put on bed rest just to make sure it didn't die," Sam quipped. "I think this is a little more complicated than you realize."

Finn sighed. He didn't know what else he was supposed to say. Then he asked, "Uh…I thought you didn't like the whole being pregnant thing anyway?"

Sam looked over at Finn quickly, hurt. "Sorry," Finn winced. "That sounded bad. I just mean that you were kind of angry about it all and now all of a sudden you're happy you're pregnant. I'm just confused."

With a sigh, Sam buried his face in his hands, one hand running through his blonde hair nervously. "I don't know," he admitted. His voice was muffled by his hands but Finn could still understand him. "I guess…I don't know, I think it's like what they say about women. Like, they connect with the baby before it's born. There's a living thing inside of me and it's weird. I feel like I know it already and it's pretty sweet."

Finn didn't speak at first. He chose his words carefully in his head before asking gently, "Are you keeping it?"

Sam stared over at Finn, surprised by his sudden interest. He sighed, flattened his hair, and shut off the xbox. Without a word, he stood and walked over to the bedroom door. Finn's stomach dropped and for a minute he thought he completely offended Sam by asking. Then, just as the boy was walking out of the room, he turned to face Finn and spoke words that Finn could barely hear.

"Yeah, I'm keeping it."


	9. Chapter 9

Kurt kept trying to get Sam alone so he could talk to him, but the boy would have none of it. Kurt barely got two minutes before Sam was on the road with Artie and his dad, and in that time all he could do was make sure Sam had all his medicine and that he promised to call if he wasn't feeling well. When they drove away, Finn said, "You're smothering him, dude."

Kurt just glared at him and walked inside. "You're doing that thing you always do," Finn followed Kurt inside. "When you care about someone, you go crazy. Sam's going to be a dad in a few months, he doesn't need you babying him."

"He's carrying my boyfriend's baby!" Kurt shouted. "If I want to worry about him I can!"

Finn was fuming and he shouted, "You gotta let him breathe, okay? I get that you care about the baby for Blaine and stuff, but he could have found his own way to Nationals and he knows he has to take his medicine."

"Honey," Carole walked in slowly. "I think Kurt's just trying to look out for Sam. No harm done."

Her presence only served to make things worse, though, and Finn walked out the door right away. "Finn! We need to get to school!" Kurt called out the door after him.

Finn just waved his hand up in the air and kept walking. He had his backpack; he could get to school on his own. Right now he just needed to cool off before he broke another chair or something. Kurt just watched Finn suspiciously as he walked away down the street. Why did he care so much, anyway?

The sun was warm against Finn's face; it was May in Ohio and Finn had forgotten how easy it was for him to get all gross and sweaty. He wanted to get into some nice air conditioning, but he was too far away from home to turn back now. Kurt probably already left and Finn wasn't ready to talk to his mom. Almost like she could read his mind, Santana was driving by and she pulled the car over when she saw Finn. "What's up with you?" she asked, staring at him as he got into the passenger seat.

He sighed and said, "I don't want to talk about it."

She didn't put the car into drive. Instead she just stared at him for a minute before saying, "It's Sam, isn't it?"

Finn's head snapped around to look at her. "It's Kurt," Finn corrected. "He just won't back off. He's pissing Sam off and Sam's just annoying when he's crabby and I'm tired of Kurt and Sam fighting. It wouldn't be so bad if Sam wasn't living with us, but he is and it just makes home suck."

She started driving. At least she knew what was going on. "Well, Hummel's never been one for subtlety," she admitted with a shrug. "Did you try talking to him about it?"

"He totally blew up at me," Finn shrugged.

"Not surprised," Santana rolled her eyes.

They drove the rest of the way to school in silence, and when she parked the car, neither moved. "Look," she said simply, turning to face him. Finn's eyes met hers and she continued, "Hummel's always gonna be overprotective. It's like, the way he is. The baby hormones are probably why Sam's being so annoying. I mean, that's why Quinn was such a bitch last year. You just gotta deal with it. If you back off, they'll forget about it, and then they can go back to their creepy not gay friendship."

Finn looked disbelieving, but he nodded. "Besides, Nationals this weekend and there's no way in hell I'm letting you three ruin it for us," she shrugged.

Santana climbed out of the car and walked away before Finn could say another word. She had a point – if they ruined Nationals, he'd never forgive himself.

The next few days passed by far too quickly; it was weird not having Sam around. Finn didn't really know what to do with himself and there was nobody to play video games with. Kurt just sat around with his magazine, trying to pretend he wasn't checking his phone every ten minutes. "Kurt, he'll let you know if he's not okay," Burt said one evening at dinner. "Besides, you guys fly out tomorrow morning. You'll see him soon."

"I just worry about him, you know?" Kurt shrugged.

He was picking at his dinner and Finn was still annoyed with him for being so clingy. After dinner, Kurt went up to Finn's room, where he sat lounging on his bed watching television. "Hey," he said quietly from the doorway.

"Hi," Finn replied.

He wasn't sure why Kurt was up in his room, but he figured it wouldn't end well. Not if the look on his face was anything to go by. "Can we talk?" Kurt asked softly.

Finn nodded and shut off the TV. He sat up on his bed and watched Kurt curiously. Kurt sat on the edge of Finn's bed and said, "Maybe you were right. I'm just worried, though. There's no harm in that."

"No, dude, it's cool that you're worried," Finn admitted casually. "It just means you care and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just the way you do it that I think gets to people sometimes."

Kurt stared down at his phone before holding it up and asking, "I guess I've been a little obsessive."

Finn nodded. They sat in silence for a minute before Kurt asked, "What else happened that night after Rachel's party?"

Finn didn't look up this time. He just sat and stared at his lap. "I told you everything I remember," Finn said. "There was a lot going on that night and…"

"Blaine and Sam didn't have sex. Sam didn't sleep with _anyone_ that night," Kurt explained. Finn's face flushed and he turned to Kurt nervously. "What do you know that I don't, Finn?"

Uh oh. Kurt had figured it out. Whatever _it_ was, Finn wasn't sure, but he knew _something_, and he couldn't hide things from Kurt for shit – it kind of sucked that the guy was so damn perceptive. With a sigh, Finn said, "I promised I wouldn't tell."

"Finn, I swear I'm not going to tell anyone. Not this time," Kurt said softly.

His eyes bore into Finn and he tried his best to make him comfortable. Whatever it was, it was on the tip of Finn's tongue and it was important. So, so important that Kurt just _needed_ to hear it. "Well, okay, so, after the championship game, Sam came to talk to me," Finn began. "He was upset about the whole kissing booth and Quinn thing, but it wasn't because of her. He was like, _looking_ for a reason to break up with her."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. He wasn't quite sure where Finn's story was going, but he patiently listened nonetheless. "He kept saying how he was all confused and I was the only guy he could talk to about it," Finn shrugged. "He told me how he'd been looking at guys and thought some were good looking and stuff – he was really freaked out about it all."

That certainly _would_ freak out any straight boy, Kurt reasoned. Why had Sam gone to Finn of all people, though? Sure, he was trustworthy, but he wasn't the most gay-friendly sometimes. "I didn't really know what to tell him most of the time, but I listened, and I guess it kind of helped him," he continued. "I mean, it kind of weirded me out when he'd tell me which guys he'd been looking at, but he needed to talk so I just…dealt with it."

"Finn, where is this going?" Kurt asked. Finn was getting sidetracked and Kurt still had to finish packing for New York.

"Just, hear me out, okay?" Finn said quickly. Kurt nodded and Finn continued slowly, "Well, after a while of listening to all of that, I decided to just Google to see what he should do. Y'know, since I had no idea." Kurt nodded. "So, I did. I pretty much figured out that he should just experiment, and like…that was no big deal. I told him to.

"We didn't talk for a few days after that, and I don't really know why. Then one day he just asked me to go hang out with him," he said. "I did, and like, it was cool at first. We just played video games and stuff. But then he wanted to talk. I figured he just wanted to talk about his whole thing with liking guys, but then that turned into him liking _me_."

Kurt's breath caught in his throat. Sam liked _Finn_? It kind of made sense, there were so many things about Finn that made him desirable, but having the guts to just…_say it_? Kurt was impressed. "Well, that's kind of where things went wrong. He uh…he kissed me and I kind of freaked out."

Now Kurt's brain was having trouble keeping up with everything. Sam kissed Finn? The story just got weirder as Finn continued, "He acted all scared around me after that and I kind of thought he hated me. But he didn't, and like, after I thought about it, kissing him didn't really suck that much, even if he was a dude. It was like I was having the same problem as him, except the only guy I kept staring at was _him_."

Kurt's eyes met Finn's and instantly Finn said, panicked, "Please don't hate me, dude. I know you had that whole crush on me thing and this is really hypocritical, but…"

"Finn," Kurt cut him off, his voice gentle but firm. "I'm not mad. Just keep talking."

With a nod, Finn took a deep breath and said, "Well, I went to talk to him and, you know, say sorry and stuff. It was kind of awkward, but then we played video games for a while and it all seemed fine again."

How video games could fix a relationship messed up by something like _that_, Kurt would never know, but he tried to push it to the back of his mind as Finn kept talking, "Well, after that, we um…well, we kind of started fooling around. Not a lot, I guess, but like, we'd get off and stuff."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Did you guys have sex?" he asked.

"Just, shh," Finn cut him off. "We took it slow. Like, hand jobs and stuff. Then the night before Rachel's party we were hanging out at Sam's place and his family left to take his little sister to Chuck E. Cheese or something. I don't know. But like…I don't know, it was weird. He was all nervous and stuff when I got there and it made me freak out a little bit."

Kurt's eyebrow remained raised as Finn continued with his story. Things were _definitely_ not how he thought they were, but at least Finn was finally saying something. "We started making out and stuff like we'd always do together, and like…it went farther," Finn's face turned red as a tomato as he said, "We kind of just went with it and ended up having sex."

"So _you're_ the father?" Kurt asked incredulously.

"No!" Finn said quickly. "I don't think I am. I mean, I'm like, really sure I'm not."

"How do you know?" Kurt pressed.

"We used a condom," Finn said simply.

"It could have broken," Kurt pointed out. "Condoms don't always work and if you guys like, didn't use enough lube or something, it could have ripped the condom and that would explain all of this."

"But…" Finn sputtered. "Ms. Holliday said…"

"She's crazy," Kurt interrupted.

He watched Finn's face for a moment, gauging the boy's reaction. Realization slowly crossed Finn's features as it hit him. "Oh my god," he said softly.

His eyes were unfocused and Kurt realized just what sort of predicament they were in. It was no wonder Finn hadn't spoken up; he didn't even realize things could have gone wrong. Not to mention they were having a secret relationship – he couldn't just out their secret, especially if Sam wasn't ready for that. Kurt couldn't even be upset at the fact that his step-brother had gone from super-straight to probably bisexual in the time that they'd been in glee club together.

"Kurt…" Finn muttered, his voice trembling. "I…I can't…"

Kurt looked at Finn sympathetically. "You can't what?" he asked gently.

Finn looked so scared and upset he couldn't even fathom how he'd be feeling. Slowly Kurt scooted closer to Finn and pulled him into a hug. "It's all going to be okay, you know," Kurt offered matter-of-factly.

"Kurt…Sam wants to keep it," Finn muttered.

Finn was shaking in Kurt's embrace and he couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. Not because he was having a baby or that he'd been in a secret relationship with a guy, but more because it was all hitting him at once. He was going to be a father, with another guy, in conservative _Ohio_. It wasn't going to go over well and he was obviously terrified, and rightly so. "You'll be a great father, Finn," Kurt told him gently.

With a shaky sigh, Finn whispered, "He doesn't even know it's mine."

"We'll tell him," Kurt said simply.

"No," Finn shook his head. "No, we can't tell him. Not until after Nationals. If we tell him before that, it might mess up his game and we have to do our best."

Kurt frowned. He knew Finn had a point, but the sooner the better. Sam deserved to know, and Blaine had to find out sooner or later. It was all such a mess, but all that mattered was that they finally knew. Kurt just had one more thing he needed to know – it may not have been the most appropriate time to ask, but he did. "Finn?" Kurt spoke softly.

"Yeah?" Finn asked, pulling out of the hug and looking at Kurt earnestly.

"Do you love him?"

Finn stared at Kurt for a minute before taking a deep breath.

"Yes."


	10. Chapter 10

The flight to Nationals seemed to take forever, and Finn just stared out the window with his iPod the whole time. "What's his problem?" Puck had asked about half an hour into the flight.

Kurt was about to speak up when Santana beat him to it. "Buzz off, Puckerman," she shot. "He doesn't want to talk to you."

Puck looked surprised at how Santana had spoken to him, and turned in his seat to return to the in-flight movie. Kurt mouthed the words 'thank you' at her, and she just nodded smugly before turning to watch the movie as well. Kurt sat next to Finn, flipping through Vogue, listening to Wicked. He'd gotten a text that morning that Artie's dad, Artie, and Sam had arrived safely in New York and were on their way to the hotel. They'd be there when the rest of the group arrived.

Once they landed, the group was buzzing. Even Finn seemed to be cheerier, but Kurt knew it was mostly just a front. Rachel could be seen watching Finn, worried, but Kurt tried to keep them apart. The last thing Finn needed was a crazy ex getting in his head when everything else was already making him so confused. They got to the hotel and there were Artie, Sam, and Mr. Abrams, all waiting in the lobby. They were greeted with hugs and Sam was surprised by the warm welcome.

Kurt just walked over with a smile on his face and asked how the drive was. That surprised Sam the most. He wasn't being pestered about how he was feeling or if he'd taken his medicine – they were just having a normal conversation and it was nice. "It was boring," Sam admitted. "But we rocked out. That was pretty sweet."

The group spent the afternoon on a bus tour, and after they went up to their hotel rooms. Mr. Schuester had brought Coach Bieste along as a second chaperone, plus Mr. Abrams was there, so they had plenty of adults to enforce the lights out at eleven o'clock rule. It also helped that Bieste talked the people at the front desk into cutting off electricity to the rooms the Glee kids were staying in overnight. They needed to be well rested if they were going to win, after all.

Sam slept well, finally in a comfortable bed. They'd slept in cheap motels the whole drive there to save money, and now they were in a four star hotel. Kurt didn't even hog the bed that much. Puck and Finn slept in the other queen bed in the room, and their light snores lulled the blonde right to sleep.

They woke bright and early; everyone trudged down for the continental breakfast before the nerves set in. When they saw Vocal Adrenaline loading their tour bus in matching warm up suits (which were _supposed_ to be just for athletes, Rachel pointed out), it all hit home. They became nervous and panicky and for some, they were more scared than before regionals the first year when the other groups had stolen their songs.

"We're going to be fine, you guys," Mercedes said, but she didn't sound so sure.

Sam's heart was racing with adrenaline, but otherwise he felt fine. He was nervous, just like everyone else, but there were worse things that could be happening. Being pregnant had given him a new outlook on everything, and so when everyone else was freaking out, he tried to stay optimistic. Even Rachel was annoyed with him.

As they warmed up in the green room, _that's_ when Sam started getting nervous. Sure, he may be just standing around the stage or crossing it for a certain verse, but he still hadn't done the full performance through all three songs. It couldn't be_ that _bad, though, right?

It came time for them to perform, and they were beyond nervous. Mr. Schue gave some sort of inspirational speech, but it went in one ear and out the other. They were just focused on the ringing of the applause and the fact that _it was their time_.

They got out there and sang their hearts out. Santana and Puck opened the performance with the ballad (an unlikely duo, but Emma had pointed out that Will had returned to his old ways) and after that the rest of the group joined them on stage. Sam stood to the side, tapping his foot and belting it out. He started to get dizzy by the end of the second song, but chalked it up to adrenaline.

The third song was the most intense – he moved back and forth across the stage a few times, singing louder and with more energy than he thought he could muster. Adrenaline and excitement really did things to a person.

Then the world started to spin.

Sam's brain told him to walk to the front of the stage and punch his fist in the air with everyone else, but his body did the opposite. He felt himself falling to the ground as blackness filled his eyesight.

The music ended and nobody clapped, the thump pulling everyone from the moment. New Directions turned to see Sam, fallen in a heap at the side of the stage. Everyone rushed to his aid, but Finn was first to get there. Bieste ran out from behind the curtains, Mr. Schue in her wake. "Finn, they've got this," Kurt said, tugging at Finn's arm desperately.

Finn was reaching out towards Sam, trying to pull him out of whatever had happened. Bieste was leaning down to pick up Sam and Finn kept insisting she didn't. "Finn, she's got this," Mr. Schue said firmly, but he wouldn't back off.

The crowd was in a panic, and one person shouted that they'd called an ambulance. Finn followed Bieste backstage, not stopping when Kurt, Mr. Schue, or even Puck tried to keep him away. "What's your problem?" Santana asked accusingly.

"I just," Finn began defensively. When he turned to face her, he found himself face to face with the whole group and he sighed. He couldn't say it. Not there. "I want to make sure he's okay."

Puck raised an eyebrow and Santana had a look of realization on her face. She took a breath to speak, but her eyes met Kurt's and his gaze warned her not to say anything. "He'll be fine," Kurt said to Finn.

Finn's eyes met Kurt's, desperate for better news than that. Paramedics arrived soon after and Mr. Schuester let Finn ride along. They sat in the back where Sam was lying with a breathing mask. Mr. Schuester tried to explain to the paramedic what was going on, but the man was just confused. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

Once at the hospital, they took Sam into a private room where Mr. Schue and Finn had to wait. Finn felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out, forgetting that it meant he'd broken Mr. Schue's 'no phones on stage' rule.

_From: Kurt  
>Bieste found the bus driver…we're on our way. Hang in there x<em>

Usually Kurt's strange ending to his text and the fact that he could spell better in text than Finn could in English papers would annoy him, but this text was oddly relaxing. They were on their way. Sam was going to be okay. Kurt was there for him. _Everything would be fine._

"Finn, can I ask you something?" Mr. Schue asked.

Finn was pulled from his thoughts and turned to his teacher absentmindedly. He just nodded, avoiding Mr. Schue's eyes. "Are you the father?" he asked softly.

No. He wasn't supposed to find out. _Nobody_ was supposed to find out. Not yet, at least. Finn couldn't help it, though. Mr. Schue had helped him through so much. Finn couldn't find it in himself to speak, though, so he settled for a nod. He felt tears pricking at his eyes again. "It's okay to be scared right now, Finn," Mr. Schue said gently. "You have a right to be scared. That's your friend and your baby in there."

Finn just buried his face in his hands. He couldn't cry – not in public. It was embarrassing, and everyone would know. "I'm not going to tell anyone unless you're okay with it, Finn, but I think you should at least tell Sam," Mr. Schuester suggested.

Finn didn't look up. He found himself focusing all his energy on not crying and controlling his shaking hands. He was so worried and he just wanted to run and hide. He'd been able to deal with the pregnancy before – Sam had been _fine_. Sure, he was on lots of medicine and he'd been on bed rest for that week or so, but they said he was okay. Dr. Lopez said that Sam and the baby were going to make it. So what was going wrong?

A doctor walked out and cleared his throat. Finn looked up quickly, hope in his eyes. "Well, it turns out you weren't kidding about him being pregnant," the doctor admitted.

Finn restrained himself from rolling his eyes and Mr. Schuester tried to keep his calm. How could they possibly make something like that up anyway? It was obvious from _looking_ at Sam that he was pregnant. "He's going to be okay, but I don't recommend much physical activity for him for the remainder of his pregnancy. The baby's heart rate is a little low," the doctor continued. "We'd like to watch him overnight, but he should be fine by tomorrow."

Finn let out a sigh of relief. "Can I see him?" he asked before he could stop himself.

The doctor looked surprised, but after a quick one-over, he realized Finn must have been the father. "Of course," he nodded.

Finn stood eagerly. "Let us know when it's okay to see him," Mr. Schue said to Finn. "I want to make sure you two have time to talk…alone."

Nervously Finn nodded and said, "Thanks Mr. Schue."

Mr. Schuester nodded and Finn followed the doctor down the hall. It was strange, seeing so many doctors and nurses. It was _scary_. Sam had been in danger, and that scared the hell out of Finn. It was even scarier that his baby, yes, _his_ this time, was in danger. The doctor paused outside the door and let Finn walk in. "I'll leave you two alone," he said before walking away.

Slowly Finn stepped into the room. It was stale and white and smelled too clean. Sam lay on the bed, pale blue polyester robes on his pale body. "Hey," he said, his voice faint and hoarse.

"Hi," Finn said nervously. "How do you feel?"

Sam rolled his eyes and said, "I let you all down."

"No," Finn replied instantly. "You didn't. This was out of your control, Sam. Don't beat yourself up for it."

Sam just looked at Finn incredulously. "In case you missed it I _passed out_. We were performing for a chance to win _Nationals_. I screwed it all up," Sam said roughly. "This baby is ruining things for the glee club and I can't stand it."

He closed his eyes and tried not to cry. He always felt like crying now that he was pregnant. It sucked – it made him look like such a wimp. "Hey, it's okay, Sam," Finn said softly, trying not to panic. He walked over to the bed and stood next to it. "We don't blame you for anything. This stuff just…_happens_. Don't be mad at the baby."

Sam turned to glare at Finn. "I'll be mad at whoever I want to be. This baby is messing up _everything_!"

"Sam, our baby is a miracle."

Finn froze and Sam's expression dropped. He stared at Finn, shocked. His voice shook as he asked, "Wh…what?"

Finn was so focused on summoning the courage to say what he needed to that he didn't hear the shuffling of feet behind him. Sam just stared up at Finn in shock as he uttered the words Sam wasn't sure he was ready to hear.

"Sam…I'm the father."


	11. Chapter 11

"Guys!" Mr. Schuester called down the hall.

He was too late. The rest of the glee club stood in the doorway to Sam's room, frozen to the spot as they heard Finn utter those words…

"Sam…I'm the father."

Sam stared up at Finn with watery eyes. His breath caught in his throat and he couldn't comprehend it. He stared at Finn, confused, as Mr. Schuester desperately tried to tug the rest of the group away. Kurt and Santana tried to help, but to no avail. Everyone stood rooted to the spot, staring at the unlikely couple incredulously. "But…we…" he trailed off.

Neither seemed to realize that the glee club was right behind them; either that or they didn't care. "I guess things can break?" Finn offered weakly.

Sam's eyes shifted to his hands. It was too much to take in. Things weren't supposed to go like this. Yes, he had feelings for Finn, but they weren't supposed to start a family or anything. This wasn't supposed to happen. "One time…" he said with a dry laugh.

Finn looked nervous and sat on the end of Sam's bed. "Why didn't you just tell me?" Sam asked sadly.

Shaking hands tugged nervously at Finn's tie as he said, "I thought you knew. I thought you were just saying you didn't know because you wish it hadn't happened. I guess I figured you were too embarrassed to tell anyone about…"

"About what?" Sam asked softly.

Finn swallowed and said, "Us."

Their eyes met and both teens were obviously nervous. "I…I don't even know what we were doing, Finn," Sam admitted. "I...I just don't know…"

Tears stung at Sam's eyes and Finn glanced over his shoulder at the group. "We don't have to hide it anymore," Finn offered with a shrug.

It wasn't that easy, though. Their experimentation had been difficult enough to comprehend, never mind _labeling _it. Sam wasn't quite sure how he felt about Finn, and Finn was still very confused. They didn't need the pressure – not when Sam's pregnancy was as risky as it was. "Can someone fill us in?" Rachel asked incredulously from the doorway.

"Way to ruin the moment, dwarf," Santana shot.

"No, she's right…we kind of need an explanation," Quinn spoke up.

"Maybe glee club really _does_ make you capital G gay," Brittany added.

"Guys, just…they need to figure this out before they try explaining it to us," Kurt said defensively.

Sam and Finn turned to face everyone in the doorway. "I just…I need time to think," Sam sighed. "Can we just talk tomorrow, Finn?"

Finn looked to Sam, disappointment in his eyes. "I…yeah," he nodded, choking back emotions that were threatening to resurface.

"Guys, come on, let's go back to the competition. We'll see Sam tomorrow when he's released," Mr. Schuester said, shooing the kids out of the doorway.

This time they did as he said, albeit sluggishly. Kurt hung behind and wandered into the room, giving Finn's arm a reassuring pat as the taller boy left. "Hey," Kurt said gently.

"I need you to leave," Sam said, his lower lip quivering.

Kurt could tell Sam was fighting tears. It was a lot to take in, not to mention he must have been insanely confused by it all. "Just…I have my phone. If you want to talk, I'm here," Kurt told him softly.

Sam didn't reply. Kurt didn't think he'd get much more than that as a response, so he turned to leave. Once he disappeared around the corner, Sam broke down. His life was falling apart: he was pregnant, his parents kicked him out, he didn't know _what_ his feelings for Finn meant, and he ruined Nationals for the glee club. Things couldn't get much worse than that.

Out in the hall, Finn wandered behind the rest of the group, staring at the floor. Nobody held back to talk to him, even Rachel. They didn't know what they'd say to him. Kurt took long strides to catch up to him and gently bumped his arm against Finn's to get the boy's attention. "Hey," he said softly.

Finn just glanced over at Kurt before staring back down at his feet. "Finn…I don't pretend to know everything about the kind of relationship you two were having, but…these things are confusing," Kurt said slowly.

It took a moment for Finn to respond, and when he did, Kurt knew it was time to drop it. "Your dad's gonna be pissed," Finn mumbled.

Kurt sighed. They rode back to the theatre where they'd performed just to find that they missed the award ceremony. As some random girl in Vocal Adrenaline informed them, they hadn't even placed. It was understandable; they had been one of ten groups competing, and the top five groups were given trophies. It took the sting off a little bit, though, learning that Vocal Adrenaline had only placed third in the nation.

On the way back to the hotel, Mr. Schuester informed them that they had placed sixth out of ten, which was really good considering they hadn't even placed at _Regionals_ the year before. He tried to keep them optimistic by reminding them that they had next year, but nobody really cared.

Most everyone went down to the pool once they got back to the hotel. Finn sat around his room, as did Kurt. They didn't speak to each other for the first hour, at least. "Kurt?" Finn asked.

Kurt casually set down his magazine and turned to Finn; he was surprised his step-brother was going to talk about it all so soon – he didn't want to scare him away by appearing too eager. "Yeah?"

"Am I gay?" Finn asked nervously.

Kurt paused a moment before saying, "You're the only one that can decide that."

Finn's eyes closed in exasperation and he said roughly, "That's just it! I don't know! My brain thinks one thing, and I know I should be thinking something else, and it's all so confusing."

"Can I be honest with you?" Kurt asked hesitantly.

Desperate eyes fixed on Kurt's and he took that as a yes. "This would be a lot easier for both of you if you didn't worry so much about what other people think is right," Kurt said.

"It's not that easy," Finn shot.

"I know," Kurt retorted.

He turned on the bed and sat cross legged, gazing over where Finn rested, outstretched, on his and Puck's bed. "Then what are we supposed to do?" he asked.

"You need to figure out whether your feelings for each other are worth it," Kurt shrugged.

"Worth what?" Finn asked, sitting up.

"Worth possibly losing friends. Worth going against what everyone says is wrong," he listed off casually. "Worth destroying your reputation. Lots of things, really."

"Dude, it's so scary…" Finn trailed off, his eyes gazing at some foreign spot in the distance.

"I know it is," Kurt insisted. "I could have hidden myself all those years in school. I could have pretended to be someone I wasn't. But in my opinion, it wouldn't have been worth it."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It wasn't," Kurt admitted. "It meant accepting the fact that I might not have any friends. It meant I'd get slushie facials and dumpster tosses and locker slams. But I didn't want to pretend I was someone I wasn't – I couldn't do that. I like being different…and I think deep down you and Sam like that, too."

"So what do I do?" Finn asked desperately.

Kurt was silent for a minute. "Well…just because you two are having a baby doesn't mean you need to get together, you know? I think the most important thing right now is that you two accept yourselves before you put any pressure on your relationship," Kurt suggested. "I'm not saying you shouldn't talk, because you definitely should, but…don't worry about labeling yourselves. Sometimes the best things just happen naturally."

"Like you and Blaine?" Finn asked hopefully.

Kurt let out a little laugh. "The build-up was rocky, but it was worth it. There was no official 'Will you be my boyfriend?' question or anything," Kurt explained. "It just…happened. Just don't rush things with Sam, okay?"

Finn nodded. He had a thousand more questions, but at that moment Puck burst in, sopping wet from the pool. He greeted them and went into the bathroom to shower. "Thanks Kurt," Finn said earnestly as he pulled on his sweatpants and crawled into bed.

"Anytime," Kurt replied, flashing Finn a small smile.

Sam dreaded the next day. It meant seeing everyone and explaining things to them, and that was far too much anxiety for Sam to handle. Plus he had the nagging thought of telling Blaine the truth hanging over him, and that made it even worse. He'd be on bed rest through most of the day, which was when everyone else would be wandering Times Square, seeing all the sights that Sam would be missing.

A few people asked for the story as soon as Sam was on the bus, but he didn't say a word, and Kurt fended them off pretty quickly. When they got to the hotel, Sam went upstairs with the help of Finn. "You should get going," Sam said softly as he sat down on the bed.

"I already told Mr. Schuester I wasn't going today," Finn said. "We need to talk."

Sam looked exasperated, but it had to happen sometime. He may as well get it over with. "Look, I don't know what we are or what I feel," Sam admitted. "I'm so confused right now and this whole pregnancy thing _sucks_."

Finn sighed. "I know," he admitted. "I can tell you're not happy and that you don't know what's going on. Honestly, I don't know either. But…"

"I told you what I felt for you and things got out of hand," Sam shrugged. "That's all there is to it."

"Sam, you know I wouldn't have done those things if I didn't feel _something_ for you, right? I'm not Puck," Finn said.

Sam sighed. He had feelings for Finn, and he couldn't deny it, but neither of them were ready for a relationship. It would be too difficult – Kurt got enough trouble as it was. It would be risky for Sam to come out to the school – what if he was thrown into a locker and it hurt the baby? Fear filled his eyes and he said, "We need to keep anything we decide to do a secret."

"Why?" Finn asked.

"Because one slam into the lockers could be the end of this," he said, absentmindedly rubbing his baby bump.

Finn stared at Sam and his belly for a minute. "I didn't even know condoms could break," he admitted. "That's why I didn't say anything."

"There's no way your parents are going to be cool with us keeping this baby if we weren't even smart enough to realize condoms could break," Sam said, a slight laugh in his voice.

Finn couldn't help but laugh a little, too. "Burt might think that, but mom is really excited about the baby, and she doesn't even know it's her grandkid yet," Finn added.

Sam's face sobered and he said, "Telling them is going to suck."

"This whole situation kinda sucks, dude," Finn admitted.

Sam laughed and said, "Well…at least I know now, right?"

Finn smiled and replied, "Yeah. And it is kind of awesome."

"How?"

"We're guys and we're having a baby together," Finn stated. "I mean, yeah, we'll probably get made fun of, but we're…well, you're…you're really special."

Sam felt his heart swell. He'd thought about how much of a freak he was because he was so different from other guys, but hearing Finn and the way he phrased it all…it made Sam feel better. "Do you regret it?" Sam asked softly.

"Regret what?" Finn asked cluelessly.

Sam swallowed hard and said, "Having sex with me?"

Finn was silent for a moment before fixing a hard gaze on Sam. "No."

That was all it took. Sam's face lit up with a smile and his heart leapt. He didn't know what was going to happen with Finn, but in this moment, he was happy. Finn smiled back at him and for a moment, both felt content. No labels, no worries – they just had each other and it felt _amazing_.


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning they took a bus tour around New York before boarding an afternoon flight back to Ohio. Artie and Sam left with Mr. Abrams; they would meet everyone back in town in a few days. When Sam finally got back to the Hummel household, all he wanted to do was go up and take a nap. Instead he walked into the living room to find Kurt and Blaine sitting around on the couch, holding hands and talking.

The polite thing to do would have been to escape upstairs so as to not disturb the couple, but Kurt wasn't going to let that happen. "Hey, Sam, you should come join us!" Kurt said, waving him over.

Sam's stomach churned. He couldn't just drop the ball on Blaine _now_. He was tired and emotional and just wanted to take a nap. Sleep was important for babies, right? Maybe it meant it would grow better and then Sam wouldn't be confined to bed rest forever. He wandered into the living room and sat on the end of the couch. "Kurt, I'm really tired," he said, "Can't I just talk later?"

"Talk about what?" Blaine asked instantly.

Sam winced. Kurt held Blaine's hand and squeezed it gently. "Oh my god," Blaine's eyes widened. "Did something happen to the baby?"

"Blaine, shut up," Kurt said quickly, an edge of annoyance in his voice.

"No, the baby's fine," Sam said, embarrassed. "I like, passed out at Nationals but everything is fine, I mean. But…"

"But what?" Blaine asked.

His gaze was intense and it made Sam nervous. This was even harder than telling him he _was_ the father. Sam cursed himself for ever getting into a mess like this. "Blaine…the baby isn't yours…"

Sam avoided Blaine's eyes and waited for an outburst that never happened. Blaine stared over at Sam, his eyes filled with confusion and relief. "What?" he asked softly.

"It's Finn's," Sam said, wiping at his eyes. Tears were threatening to fall and he _hated_ not being in control of his emotions. "We had this thing before the party and…I don't know, something went wrong. I mean…you're a great guy, Blaine, and it was really cool you were going to help me, but…you don't have to. This is me and Finn's mistake and well…you're free."

"Sam, I hope you don't think I _wanted_ it to be someone else's," Blaine said instantly, coaxing the blonde to look up at him. Sam just shrugged. His voice was gentle as he continued, "I'm kind of relieved it's not mine, because I was scared to death to become a parent so soon, but…I'll still be here if you or Finn need anything, okay?"

"You're not mad?" Sam asked.

Blaine let out a laugh and said, "Honestly, this whole situation is so confusing, I don't really know _what_ I feel."

"Tell me about it," Sam rolled his eyes in reply.

Blaine looked at Sam earnestly and said, "Thank you for telling me."

Sam just nodded. He wasn't sure what to say – it all seemed rather awkward now that everything was out there. "I should bring my stuff upstairs," Sam said, pointing to his suitcase still sitting by the door.

"Do you need help?" Blaine offered.

"I'm fine, thanks," Sam insisted.

He stood and brought his suitcase upstairs where Puck and Finn were sitting around playing video games. "Hey dude, wanna play?" Finn asked.

Puck pressed pause on the game and said, "Or do you two want to explain to me what's going on?"

It wasn't surprising, but Sam was tired of everyone wanting to know everything. He just wanted a nap. "I really just want to take a nap," Sam said, curling up in his bed without even unpacking his suitcase.

"Uncool," Puck mumbled.

"We'll like…explain it in glee club or something," Finn said stupidly.

Sam just buried his face in his pillow. He did _not_ want to have to explain anything to anyone – not anytime soon at least. He slept the rest of the night, even though Puck and Finn weren't the quietest when they played video games. Sam was far too exhausted to care.

He woke the next morning to Finn rousing him. "It's time for school, dude," he said. "It's our last week!"

Sam gave a weak smile and climbed out of bed. He got ready, knowing full well he'd regret wearing a sweatshirt at the end of May. He had to hide the ever-growing baby bump somehow, though. Even just barely into the pregnancy he felt huge and gross. Finn approached him in the hallway before glee club and asked, "Should we explain it to them?"

Sam sighed and shut his locker. He turned to Finn and asked with a raised eyebrow, "Explain what?"

"You know," Finn said, with shifty eyes. "About the baby."

"I know _that_," Sam rolled his eyes. "I mean, like everything else. We don't even really know what we were doing or what it meant and you know they'll want to label everything. I'd rather we just avoid it until we know what's going on."

"Does this mean we have to talk? Alone?" Finn asked nervously.

Sam sighed and walked down the hall. Finn followed with fast strides and said, "Fine. Yeah, we'll wait."

Glee club proved to be difficult that day. Everyone just wanted to know what was going on and Sam wasn't ready to tell. Kurt tried to get them to back off and Puck kept pushing because of what they'd told him the day before. Thankfully Mr. Schuester stepped in and got everyone to back off. "I don't get it," Kurt said to Sam as they walked out of the choir room. "If this all happened before Rachel's party, what were you remembering?"

Sam shrugged, "I really don't know."

Kurt looked skeptical but didn't press the matter further. "Well, lucky for you we only have a week left of school. Your clothes aren't fitting as well anymore," Kurt muttered so only Sam could hear.

Sam just glared at Kurt and they went their separate ways to class. At the end of the day they drove home in silence. Sam tried to escape upstairs to take a nap (he was always exhausted and he hated it) but Finn followed him. Sam tossed himself back on his bed and watched as Finn strode across the room at sat on his own. "I'm really confused right now, Finn," Sam confessed.

He looked upset and it was hard for Finn to look at the blonde. He knew how he felt though. "I am too," he admitted.

"So now what?" Sam asked roughly.

Finn looked nervous before saying, "Well…before you seemed pretty sure of yourself and all…what went wrong?"

Sam sighed. He wasn't sure. "Honestly?" Sam asked. Finn stared intently and Sam admitted, "It's different now that everything is out in the open. I was okay with it being our secret; we didn't have to tell anyone or _label_ it."

"I suppose," Finn shrugged. "It was going to happen eventually, though…"

"That's just it!" Sam burst. "I didn't want it to happen at all. It was supposed to go away on its own and I'd never have to worry about it."

Finn didn't speak. Sam just ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm down. Stress was bad for the baby. Absentmindedly, his hand ran across his belly. "Do you think a guy can be attracted to another guy?" Finn asked.

Sam just stared at Finn like he was stupid and said, "Of course."

"No, I mean like…_only_ one guy. You're the only dude I've ever done _that_ with…or even thought about doing it with…" Finn trailed off, embarrassed.

Sam shrugged. "It's not like you're attracted to every girl you see, so it could be the same with guys," he said nonchalantly. "I don't know."

Finn looked confused and a little distressed. "What are we supposed to do?" Sam asked. "Give this a try and raise a baby together? We still have to tell your parents, by the way, and I don't see Burt taking that well at all."

Finn sighed, "We don't have to tell him _tonight_, but soon would be good."

They sat in silence for a minute, glancing awkwardly at each other. "You never answered the other part of my question," Sam pointed out, his voice soft and a little hesitant.

"Well, you said you wanted to keep the baby," Finn said slowly. He wrung his hands in his lap and said, "I'd like to help."

Sam stared over at Finn, jaw dropped. "Really?" he asked. "You don't have to…"

"I want to," Finn said instantly.

Their eyes met. The gaze was intense and Finn looked serious. Sam sat up on his bed and asked softly, "I'm so confused right now. I just…I want the baby to be okay."

"It will be," Finn said, walking over to Sam's bed and sitting next to him. "You'll be fine and the baby will be fine and we'll figure it all out eventually."

Sam looked over at Finn hopefully. Finn's eyes met Sam's and they stared at each other for a minute before slowly Finn began leaning in. Sam's breath hitched as he felt Finn's breath on his lips, drawing nearer to his own with each passing second. His eyes fluttered shut as Finn kissed him, slow and gentle. Sam's heart was beating wildly in his chest and he'd never felt something so good in a while. Finn also found it hard to comprehend – just a simple, innocent kiss was blowing his mind. He pressed into it a little before pulling away, his eyes still closed.

Sam opened his eyes first, his breathing shallow. Finn's eyes slowly opened and Sam offered him a small smile. Finn smiled awkwardly in response and they sat there for a minute. A voice clearing in the doorway pulled them from their thoughts. "Sorry to interrupt, but Finn, Quinn is downstairs. She says she wants to talk to you," Kurt said.

Finn nodded and left the room. Sam couldn't stop the smile on his face from growing. Kurt smirked knowingly and walked into the room. "That was quite the kiss," Kurt commented.

Sam couldn't even be embarrassed that Kurt had seen it; he spoke the truth and it was wonderful. "Yeah," the blonde said breathlessly. "It was."

"Good for you guys," Kurt replied earnestly. "I guess that means you two are okay then?"

Sam nodded and they sat in silence for a moment. His mind drifted off for a moment and his heart began racing all over again.

_Short dark hair, not too short, but definitely enough to tickle his neck. The guy kissed his neck and yeah, Sam could remember how nice it felt. His fingers wove perfectly into the hair and it was so soft and wonderful. But then the guy stopped._

_Dark eyes met Sam's and in an unmistakable voice, the other boy spoke. "I can't do this," Finn said quietly. "You're drunk. I'm not going to take advantage of you."_

"Hello?" Kurt asked, waving his hand in front of Sam's face.

Sam jolted back to the present and turned to Kurt. "It was Finn!" he said excitedly.

"I know that," Kurt said, giving Sam a strange look, like he was crazy or something.

"No! I mean those memories. It was Finn. I remembered more and he stopped," Sam explained quickly. "In the memory he said he couldn't take advantage of me because I was drunk. Right after the same kissing stuff I remembered before."

Kurt thought about it for a moment and admitted, "That certainly explains why it took him so long to bring you up to your room when we drove you home."

Sam laughed and said, "Things are going to be okay, Kurt!"

He was absolutely beaming, and Kurt couldn't help but smile in return. "Yes, they are," he smiled.

Sam's grin was contagious and didn't fade from Kurt's face until Sam was downstairs finding a snack. Standing to leave the room, Kurt mumbled to himself, "I sure hope dad takes this well."


	13. Chapter 13

Sam and Finn managed to make it three weeks into summer without much incident. They hadn't kissed or done anything remotely _romantic_ since then, but they were hanging out more, and they were talking, which was good. They went out to dinner once, too, but everyone just thought they were friends. It was good, they supposed, because it gave them time to think about everything. Neither really knew what they wanted to do, but even if they did they wouldn't say it. It was too soon. Their friendship was precarious as it was, they didn't want to ruin things by rushing into something that might just break them completely.

One day in the middle of June, the two of them were sitting at dinner with Kurt, Carole, and Burt, when the topic of who the father was came up again. "So Sam…have you uh…do you know who the dad is?" Burt asked.

Carole sent Burt a warning look, like he shouldn't have said anything, but no words were spoken. "I…" Sam stammered, blushing. "Yeah…um…I have."

His voice was shaking and Finn and Kurt just stared at their plates. "Well who is it, honey?" Carole asked.

She'd taken to using terms of endearment with Sam, just like she did with Finn and Kurt. It was like he was a third son to her. He may as well be, considering the news he was about to spill. He set down his fork and buried his hands in his lap. He stared down at his hands as he mumbled, "It's Finn."

Burt and Carole looked at each other, baffled, before turning to Finn. "I thought you weren't drinking that night, Finn?" Burt asked roughly.

"Honey, why didn't you tell us you were gay?" Carole asked softly.

"I'm a little confused here," Burt added.

"Will you just let them speak!" Kurt burst out.

The table was silent and everyone exchanged glances. Awkwardness hung in the air as Finn and Sam looked at each other, absolutely mortified. "It was um…before the party," Finn started, staring down at his lap. Sam looked like he was going to cry again and Finn hated when that happened. "We were confused about everything and just…tried it out. We didn't know the condom was going to break."

His own voice was shaking. "I'll understand if you guys kick me out," Sam said softly.

"Kick you out of Finn's room, maybe, but not the house," Burt told him instantly. He paused and looked between them before asking, "So are you two a…um…well…"

"Are you dating?" Carole finished for him.

She was handling this pregnancy far better than the last one Finn had told her about. Finn was handling it better too, which made her think he'd known for a while. All the boys had, she guessed. "We really don't know what's going on," Finn admitted with a shrug. "We're just really confused and…well we haven't done anything since the night the baby was um…well, yeah."

Burt looked between them curiously before nodding. "I don't want to discourage you two from…figuring it out. A baby needs a good family," Burt said, choosing his words carefully, "But Sam, we're going to have to find somewhere else for you to sleep in the house. I have to hold you two to the same rules I hold Blaine and Kurt."

Sam nodded and said, "Thank you for letting me stay."

"Of course, Sam," Carole said instantly, a warm smile on her face. "You're welcome here as long as you need a home."

Sam sent her a grateful glance before picking up his fork and taking a small bite of potatoes. They all ate in silence for a minute before Burt asked, "Have you two decided what you'd like to do about the baby?"

Sam's hands were shaking again; telling them something like this shouldn't be that hard. He glanced to his side where Finn was sitting. "We want to keep it," Finn said bravely.

Kurt looked up from his dinner quickly, surprised at their decision. Carole beamed and said, "That's very responsible of you two."

"Yeah, it is," Burt nodded. He took a bite of his potatoes before saying, "It's not going to be easy, raising a kid at your age, but we'll help you."

Finn looked surprised. "Really?" Sam asked, shocked.

"Finn can work for me in the garage this summer, save up some money, and that should help," Burt nodded.

"Some of my co-workers are getting rid of old baby furniture their kids grew out of," Carole added. "We could see if they'd be willing to give us anything."

Sam nodded and looked over at her gratefully. She just smiled back in return. They made it all the way to dessert without another mention of the baby. "When do you boys find out the gender?" Carole asked.

"The question is actually _if_ they want to know," Kurt pointed out.

"I want to know," Sam said automatically. He turned to look at Finn who nodded. "Dr. Lopez said at my next appointment he'd be able to tell me."

"When is that?" Carole asked, sounding far more excited than she should have.

Sam sighed and said, "Two days."

"Well, you be sure to tell us when you find out," Burt said, pointing his fork at Sam before picking up another piece of his apple pie with it.

Sam nodded. Finn looked over at Sam, confused. After dinner, Sam found out exactly why. "When were you going to tell me about this appointment?" he asked roughly.

Surprise crossed Sam's features as he asked, "You want to go with?"

"Of course I do!" Finn replied, frustrated. "I'm the father, I think I deserve to!"

Sam shrugged and said, "It's actually pretty boring. I didn't think you'd want to."

"I went with Quinn once," Finn told him. "When I thought Beth was mine. Seeing her for the first time, even through that weird machine, it was awesome. And I want to see our baby."

"Okay then," Sam said defensively. He wasn't sure why Finn was so upset. "You can come with me."

With a lopsided smile, Finn said, "Sweet."

Two days later, Finn found himself under the scrutinizing gaze of Dr. Lopez as he started up the machine and squirted weird gel on Sam's belly. The bump was definitely there now; Sam wandered the house shirtless purely because he had no shirts that fit so it was no surprise to Finn. Dr. Lopez pointed to several body parts and such on the screen, but Finn wasn't really listening. He was seeing his child, _his_ this time, for the first time. "What is it?" he asked, interrupting Dr. Lopez mid-sentence.

The doctor looked confused and turned his gaze to Sam. "He means what's the gender," Sam clarified.

Finn stared at the black and white screen as Dr. Lopez moved along Sam's belly. "Congratulations, you two," Dr. Lopez said with a smile. "It's a girl."

Sam gave a small smile and Finn beamed. His mom would be happy about it, that's for sure, but he was happy too. He'd always liked the idea of having a daughter, ever since Quinn. "Is she healthy?" Sam asked hopefully.

"For now, yes," Dr. Lopez said. "She's developing better now, but we're still going to need to see you every two weeks, just to keep an eye on her."

Sam's smile grew at that. She was healthy; all the sitting around and eating the right foods was finally paying off. "You're on track to deliver in November," Dr. Lopez said, printing a new sonogram for Sam.

Relief crossed Sam's features and he cleaned off his belly happily. His tee shirt stretched awkwardly over the bump and he wore a large jacket over it, but he did what was necessary to hide it. The last thing he needed was for his secret to be spread all over the world. "If you experience any pains or unusual symptoms, let me know," Dr. Lopez told him. "I don't anticipate any complications as long as you continue doing what you have been, but we can never be too careful."

Sam nodded and thanked the doctor before following Finn out to Kurt's car (they'd been able to borrow it for the afternoon). "A girl," Finn said as they climbed in.

Sam sat in the passenger seat and nodded. "I think we'll be okay as long as she doesn't constantly make sure everyone knows she has two gay dads like Rachel does," Sam laughed.

Finn laughed along with him and they drove home in comfortable silence. When they got home, Carole was positively overjoyed at the thought of having a granddaughter. Kurt smiled as well. "She is going to have the_ best_ clothes," he said happily.

Sam rolled his eyes and Finn grabbed an apple from the counter. "I gotta go to football practice," he said, his mouth full of apple. "I'll see you guys later."

He gave his mom a hug and Sam a surprisingly gentle rub on the shoulder before disappearing out the door where Mike pulled up in his car, Puck already in the passenger seat. "Well, what do you say we go outside for a while?" Kurt asked Sam after exchanging a strange look with Carole. "You could use some sun, and it's always relaxing to read outside."

"Sure," Sam shrugged.

Kurt and Sam went out onto the back porch where there were already two chairs set up in the sunlight. One had a massive umbrella covering it, the other didn't. Sam laughed and sat in the uncovered chair. Kurt reclined back in the shaded chair. "I have fair skin and I don't like sunburn," he shrugged, pulling out the latest issue of Vogue magazine.

"You don't have to sit out here with me, you know," Sam said, a smile still on his face.

"I like being outside," Kurt insisted. "I just don't like sunlight hurting my skin."

Sam sat back, his arms behind his head, and bragged, "I tan so well."

"I'll laugh if you get burnt today," Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I won't," Sam pouted. "Then again, I don't burn, so it doesn't matter.

Kurt let out a laugh and opened his magazine. Sam reclined back, trying to ignore just how large his belly had gotten in the last few months. He was at twenty weeks – the halfway mark – and already he felt like his stomach wouldn't be able to get any larger. The skin looked stretched tight and even had a few stretch marks already (no wonder Quinn complained about them) but Sam tried not to let them bother him. They'd go away after the baby was born, right? He'd have his perfect torso back eventually. He hoped so, at least.

Almost as if he could read Sam's mind, Kurt spoke up and said, "I have some skin cream you could use on those stretch marks." He didn't even look up from his magazine. "You've been looking at them angrily for days; I figured it out right away."

Sam looked uncomfortable but nodded, "Sweet. Should I go get it…?"

Sam moved to sit up and Kurt burst out, "No!"

Confused, the blonde rested back on the chair and looked at Kurt curiously. "I mean…you shouldn't use it while you're outside. The best time to use the cream is after you've showered. We can get it later," Kurt insisted, but there was an edge to his voice that Sam didn't like.

"Just sit back and relax," Kurt told him. "Trust me."

Sam sat back, but he couldn't stop his mind from wandering. Kurt was acting suspicious and he was worried about what it might mean. Why couldn't he go in the house? It's not like there was anything going on he shouldn't see – Finn was at football practice, Carole was cleaning, and Burt was working at the garage. It was a typical day around the Hummel-Hudson household.

Instead of pushing things, though, Sam just sat back. He relaxed in the sun and felt himself slowly drifting off to sleep, the relaxing sound of the breeze and Kurt flipping magazine pages lulling him into a peaceful slumber.


	14. Chapter 14

Sitting out on the porch in the sun was a common thing between Kurt and Sam in the weeks to come. Sam wasn't quite sure why Kurt kept insisting on being the only one to ever go inside and get them water or lemonade, but he chalked it up to the fact that he was very much pregnant and rather tired. When he didn't have football, Finn would join them outside on the deck, basking in the sun but covered in sunscreen. He _did_ burn, but the sun was too warm and relaxing to hide from.

"I can't believe you're already so big," Finn commented, his eyes lingering on Sam's stomach.

"That's real nice," Kurt retorted, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Sam looked uncomfortable but said, "There's still three months to go. I don't think I can get any bigger."

"You will," Kurt said simply.

Grumbling, Sam rested his head back on the chair. "It's okay, though," Finn insisted. "It's cool."

There was a loud noise coming from the house and Kurt and Finn instantly looked at each other, panicked. "What was that?" Sam asked, confused.

"Um…I'll go check. You wait here," Kurt said nervously.

He stood and went into the house. When he emerged a few minutes later he looked much happier and announced, "You guys should come inside. Dad and Carole need to talk to us."

Sam looked confused and was even more baffled as to why Finn seemed to be looking anywhere but at Sam's face. He followed the step-brothers into the house and basked in the cool air conditioning. They slid the patio door shut and wandered into the living room. Sam was shocked at the sight of everyone in glee club standing around as they shouted, "Surprise!"

Confused, Sam looked between Finn and Kurt. "What's going on?"

He was a little self-conscious, standing around in shorts (that were perched rather low on his waist) and absolutely nothing else. He didn't really have anything else to wear, but still. It was embarrassing. Carole stepped up beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "It's a baby shower," she smiled.

That much was evident by looking at the room. There were pastel colored streamers and balloons and snacks off to one side, as well as a small pile of gifts in the corner. "We heard you guys were keeping the baby," Rachel said, stepping forward authoritatively. "Every new family needs a baby shower, and what better way to celebrate than with your friends, right?"

Everyone stood around the living room; Sam found it a little hard to believe. He sat down in the recliner that Carole led him to and stared incredulously at everyone. Kurt was beaming at his side and asked, "What do you think?"

Words seemed to be failing Sam. It took a few moments, but he finally managed to say, "I'm…wow. Thank you."

Finn gave Sam a lopsided smile from across the room. Their relationship had gotten _funny_ over the last few weeks, and while _they_ were comfortable with it, they weren't sure if anyone else would be. Finn had given Sam countless back rubs and brought him food when he was too exhausted to move. And if there had been a few goodnight kisses mixed in there somewhere, Burt never needed to know. Sam had still been sleeping in Finn's room because even though they had to be kept to the same rules as Kurt and Blaine, there was simply nowhere else to put Sam's bed. Instead they were held to a 24/7 open door policy, which was apparently just as effective (when the adults were awake, at least).

"These snacks are delicious," Lauren said happily, eating one of the many treats on the table.

Kurt beamed and wandered over to the table where he quickly began explaining to Lauren what everything was, as well as offering to share the recipes with her. She happily accepted and they delved into a conversation about food (much to Puck's dismay). "So, gifts or cake first?" Quinn asked.

Sam hadn't spoken to Quinn much since the whole mess of her cheating on him with Finn. She now stood by his side, that beautiful smile plastered on her face, genuine and glowing. Their rocky relationship was in the past and if her attitude was anything to judge by, they were going to be okay. "Well I'm not really hungry yet, so gifts?" Sam offered. "But you guys didn't need to get me anything…really."

"Don't be stupid," Santana said with a smile. "Glee club is like a family, which means that baby is going to be spoiled rotten."

Sam smiled as everyone started bringing gifts forward. Rachel's gift was first, by her insistence of course. Inside the plain white box was the most obnoxious gift they'd ever seen, in a good way. It was a plush microphone, covered in sparkly pink beads and a big, bright gold star. "With such good singers as her fathers, I'm sure your little girl will be incredibly talented," Rachel insisted. "You might as well start her early."

"Thanks," Sam laughed, blushing a little at the compliment.

Mike and Tina gave him their gift next. Inside the box were little white shoes with bows on them. Dancing shoes. "You're a good dancer, so we thought maybe she would be too," Tina explained.

"Have you seen Finn dance?" Santana joked.

"Hey, I'm not _that_ bad," Finn retorted. "I've gotten better."

"It's true, he has," Brittany told Santana matter-of-factly.

Finn just laughed as Sam thanked Tina and Mike. "And if she ever wants dance lessons," Mike added, "You know where to find me."

Artie wheeled forward next and handed a little box over to Sam. "I saw them in the store and thought they were awesome," he explained as Sam opened the box.

Inside were tiny pink sunglasses with frames the shape of hearts. Sam laughed and thanked him as Rachel cooed about how adorable they were. Quinn's gift was a pink dress, complete with a tiara headband, and Sam wasn't surprised by it in the least. She gave him a smile as he thanked her and accepted the next gift, a purple bedazzled hat and scarf set from Mercedes.

Brittany and Santana gave him a tie blanket they made themselves (well, Santana made it, Brittany just picked out the yellow duck patterned fleece). Puck and Lauren's gift was next; a toy guitar. "She'll be too little to use that right away, you know," Kurt pointed out.

"I know," Puck said, almost insulted that Kurt would think he didn't know any better. "But one day that girl is going to be a badass rockstar and it'll be all because of us."

Lauren and Puck high fived and Kurt rolled his eyes. "It's awesome guys," Sam said, noticing the fact that it had real strings.

Yeah, his little girl was going to be a guitar player just like him, if Sam had anything to say about it at least. When Blaine stepped through the crowd, Sam was surprised. Blaine held out a box and Sam took it and slowly removed the wrapping paper. They didn't speak; conversation had been strained since Sam had retracted his "you're the father" statement. Under the wrapping paper was a box decked out in the Build-A-Bear logo.

Inside was a plain white teddy bear. "When she's born and grows up a little, you can take her to the store and let her choose whatever outfits she wants for it," Blaine explained. "I had no idea what she'd like so I just kind of left it."

Sam smiled. "Thanks Blaine," he said, meeting Blaine's eyes for the first time in a while.

"You're welcome," Blaine smiled back.

Kurt stepped in and ushered Blaine away just in time for Carole to start handing out cake, complete with pastel colored frosting. "I can't have a lot," he said when Carole tried to push a large piece of cake on him. "The doctor said I can't have too many sweets."

"Splurge just this once," Santana insisted. "I'm sure my dad will forgive you."

"But the baby…"

"It'll be okay," Carole insisted. "You should be celebrating!"

Sam took the piece of cake without another protest. He didn't end up finishing it anyway; the frosting was ridiculously sweet and upset his stomach a little. The glee club sat around their living room, Carole cleaning the empty platters from food in the kitchen. "So…do you guys want to talk about what's going on with you?" Quinn asked hesitantly.

"Back off," Santana shot quickly. "They don't have to label anything."

Sam and Finn exchanged awkward glances and Finn just sort of nodded at Sam. "Well…we're keeping it, I guess you know," Sam shrugged. "Otherwise, I don't know. We're just friends, if that's what you're asking."

"When did this all happen?" Quinn pressed.

Santana glared at her but Sam just took a deep breath. It was time to tell them. "I was confused and so was he," Sam said, looking over at Finn to make sure it was okay to be saying this. "We were just trying to figure out what all these…_feelings_ meant. One thing led to another and…yeah. Now this," he finished, rubbing his bare belly.

"But…when…?" Rachel asked, clearly confused.

"The night before your party," Finn told her with a sigh.

Nobody spoke for a minute. "Well, I think it's awesome that the glee club is going to have a baby," Mercedes spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

Quinn glanced over at her, almost as though she was hurt. "I mean, Babygate was all dramatic and stuff and we all made it through, but…this is different," she defended herself. "There's no drama, no broken friendships…and the baby is going to be around, so it's not like we can pretend it's not happening."

With a sigh, Quinn admitted, "She's right. This is something to be happy about." A small smile crossed her features and she said, "I'm glad you guys are happy."

Sam and Finn exchanged glances. Sam always seemed to be miserable; his back would hurt, he'd be too exhausted to even shower, and sometimes his stomach would hurt. Did they really look as happy as Quinn made them sound? "I agree," Tina spoke up. "This is awesome. And you guys can always call us if you need anything."

The group resounded with agreement and Sam felt a little overwhelmed. Just a few months ago they hadn't even _believed_ him, let alone supported him. "Thanks," he said, his voice soft.

Everyone sat around talking and eating the last of the snacks until Carole walked in and suggested that everyone get home for dinner. One by one, members of the glee club said goodbye, leaving Sam alone in the living room with Kurt, Finn, and Carole. Burt walked in and spotted them all and the aftermath of the party. "Is it time?" he asked Carole.

Sam looked confused again. "Close your eyes," Kurt instructed with a smile.

Sam just stared at Kurt like he was crazy. "Just do it," Finn insisted.

Each boy latched on to one of Sam's arms and the blonde did as he was told. He slowly walked where they led him to, hoping he didn't run anything with his gigantic belly. When they stopped and told him to open his eyes, Sam wasn't quite sure what to expect.

It certainly wasn't a nursery with enough space for a bed for Sam _and_ a crib. It was painted dark brown and a neutral tan, and looked quite cozy. There was just enough space for the bed and the crib, and some blankets and baby clothes could be spotted around the room. "What is this?" Sam asked, confused.

"It's our shower gift to you," Kurt explained.

"From all of us," Burt added.

Sam stared around the room. "Now you have your own room for just you and the baby," Carole told him. "We've got a few things around here for you – some diapers and baby clothes. Everything you should need."

Sam couldn't speak. All of these things…they had to be expensive. This wasn't even his own family, and they were pouring out money for him to be able to do this. It made it all real – Sam was three months away from being a teenage father. "What do you think?" Finn asked hesitantly.

Sam looked over at Finn, not quite sure why there were tears welling in his eyes. Kurt silently ushered Burt and Carole out of the room and pulled the door shut, giving them the privacy they obviously needed. "You guys didn't have to do this, you know," Sam said weakly.

"Why not?" Finn asked, confused. "I mean, it's _our_ baby. They can buy things for her if they want to."

Sam let out a small laugh and said, "Gifts, yes. But a whole room full of stuff? I can't accept it…it's too much."

"Do you know how much they paid for?" Finn asked seriously.

Shaking his head, Sam muttered, "No."

"The rocking chair and the diapers are from mom and Burt. A few of the outfits are from Kurt. Carole got the crib from some lady at work, but everything else was me," Finn told him. "The blankets, the paint, the diapers and food and everything else was all me."

"Finn, you didn't have to," Sam insisted.

Finn sighed and said, "I'm this baby's _father_, Sam. I _did_ have to."

Sam took a deep breath and looked up at Finn. His eyes were watery, but he no longer felt like he was going to cry. "Thank you," he said softly.

The corner of Finn's mouth twitched up into a lopsided smile and he said, "You're welcome."

Ever so slowly, Finn leaned down and captured Sam's lips with his own. This time wasn't awkward or rushed or a quick peck on the lips, it was different. It was like before the whole baby mess, only _better_. Sam's heart was racing and he shifted his lips against Finn's, deepening the kiss just barely. Finn sighed into the kiss and pulled Sam close, his very swollen belly pressing against Finn. Sam shrunk away at this contact, breaking the kiss. He stepped away, flushed. He offered Finn a small smile before thanking him again and leaving the room.

Finn stood and stared after Sam, finally realizing what all these feelings _really_ meant.


	15. Chapter 15

They only had one week of summer left before school would begin; the boys still relaxed out on the porch in the sun. Sam had fallen asleep rather quickly that day, but Kurt summed it up to the fact that he had to get up early for his doctor's appointment that morning.

Kurt read his magazine in silence, basking in the last little bit of warmth that Ohio would provide them before fall swept over the town. He was content in his article about Neil Patrick Harris and his new family when a hiss from Sam's direction pulled him away. Sam was wincing and his hands clutched at his very swollen belly. "Sam?" Kurt asked.

Sam just let out a groan and squirmed in his chair. "Sam, what's going on?" Kurt pressed, sitting up in the chair and setting his magazine to the side.

"Ow," Sam whimpered.

Kurt's eyes bulged and he asked, "Are you having it now!"

Sam shook his head, but he wasn't so sure. All he knew was that his body _really_ didn't like him and the baby wouldn't stop kicking and it hurt like hell. Kurt reached for his phone and keys, just to find that his keys weren't there. "Shit," he burst out, remembering that he let Finn drive his car to football practice.

Kurt desperately began dialing numbers. First his dad, then Carole, then Finn, but nobody answered. Sam kept wincing and squirming in pain to the side of Kurt. "Make it stop," Sam groaned.

Kurt bit his lip and said, "Sam, you need to go put a shirt on. We're going to get you to the hospital somehow."

Slowly Sam stood from his chair and wandered inside. The pain was so horrible he had to stop and ride through it before he could keep walking. Much to his protest, Sam had given in and bought a few maternity tank tops; they were plain white and covered his belly. He only needed them in the car or doctor's office anyway. That, and he was tired of Kurt insisting that fashion had no gender, even if the fashion came from Target.

When Kurt walked into Sam's bedroom with a plan, Sam was relieved. "We just have to wait on the couch until she gets here," Kurt told him. "It'll be okay."

Sam winced and clutched at his stomach. "It hurts, Kurt!" he cried out.

Kurt wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do, but he led Sam out to the living room and sat them down so he had a good view of the driveway. He kept telling Sam to breathe, because he'd seen enough TV shows to know that was step one. After that, though, Kurt was clueless. "Oh, my god," Sam groaned, slouching down on the couch.

Before Kurt could even get away from Sam to open the door, Santana burst through and said, "Come on. My dad's meeting us at the hospital."

She rushed over to Sam and helped him up. His face was red and he was breathing heavily. They slowly got Sam into the car (he didn't want to move, he was in that much pain) and rushed over to the hospital. "Hummel, be sure to let your family know where you are. _Especially_ Finn," Santana instructed.

Kurt nodded from the backseat and left three messages; one for his dad, one for his mom, and one for Finn. When they got to the hospital, Sam was rushed upstairs to a room, leaving Santana and Kurt with nothing to do but wait. "Thanks for driving us," Kurt said to her.

She turned to him with a small smile and said, "Of course. Sam's my boy."

Kurt tried to look relieved and calm, but he couldn't. Sam was in there, and it was early. Too early. He knew the pregnancy had been risky but delivering at the end of August when the baby wasn't due until the end of _November_ was scary. "He's going to be okay," Santana insisted. "My dad's good at his job."

Kurt nodded, but it wasn't just Sam he was worried about. Santana knew what was on his mind, too, but she didn't have the answer for that. Sure, her dad was good at his job, but she wasn't so sure he was _that_ good. He talked about preemies before and about how some of them didn't survive if they were born that early.

The worry etched on Kurt's features broke her heart, though, and she wasn't going to drop her tough exterior in a hospital for all to see…not yet. Instead she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a strong hug. Kurt's arms instantly found their way around her waist and he stood there for a moment, trying to be comforted by Santana's gesture. When they broke away, Finn and Puck bounded up to them, sweaty and still in their football gear. "I got your message on our water break," Finn said, out of breath. "Where is he?"

"They've got him down the hall. We couldn't go with him," Kurt said sadly.

"But I'm the _father_!" Finn insisted, pushing down the hall before the other three could stop him.

They must have let him in because a whole hour passed before Finn returned. Puck and Santana had stayed with Kurt in the waiting room. Puck hadn't said a single word since they'd gotten there, and Santana just kept her arm wrapped through Kurt's, holding him close. "Well?" Kurt asked, perking up at Finn's presence.

Santana and Puck looked just as attentive. "He's fine," Finn nodded. His expression was serious and the others weren't sure they were prepared for what he was going to say. "The baby's fine. They put him on medicine."

"Do we get to see her?" Santana asked anxiously.

Finn looked confused for a minute before saying, "No, he didn't have her. It was a false alarm. He's on bed rest until she _is_ born, though."

"But school starts next week," Puck spoke up.

Finn shrugged. "It'll be really bad for the baby if he goes to school," he told them. "Like, _really_ bad."

Nobody said anything for a moment. "Can we see _Sam_ at least?" Santana asked.

Finn nodded and said, "Come on. He's napping but I mean, I was going to stay anyway."

They all ended up sitting in Sam's room until Burt and Carole showed up around dinnertime and made Santana and Puck leave. They had been there since before lunch, after all. Burt gave Finn some money and sent him and Kurt down to the café to get dinner. They sat down next to Sam and watched as he began to stir.

A nurse came in while Finn and Kurt were gone to change the medicine bag by his bed, and she said that the medicine should be wearing off soon. She also informed Burt and Carole on Sam's condition in case he asked.

When Sam came to, he looked at them, embarrassed. "Where's Finn?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"He and Kurt are just down getting some dinner," Burt told him. "He'll be back soon."

"But…the baby…" Sam trailed off, looking upset.

Carole reached out to hold his hand gently and his heart dropped. "She's okay," Carole told him, glancing at his belly.

Sam let out a breath of relief and tossed his head back on the pillows. "There's just one thing…" Carole continued, frowning. "You're on permanent bed rest until she's born."

"I'm not surprised," Sam grumbled, but his voice was full of disappointment.

He'd been on bed rest so much already that the idea of three more months of it sounded _miserable_. "We went and talked to the school today," Burt told him. "Figgins already has a system for you to still learn what you need to even though you can't be there. Apparently there's a girl in your grade that suffers from seizures a lot and already uses it when she's at home sick. They'll have someone videotape the class period and then Finn can bring the disks home for you. He'll bring your homework in and everything, too, so you can stay on track and graduate on time."

Sam frowned but nodded. It was better than going to school with the huge bulge of a baby belly he was currently sporting. Explaining that to some of the Neanderthals that roamed the halls of McKinley was a daunting thought, and Sam _never_ wanted to go through that.

Finn and Kurt walked through the doorway and when Finn and Sam's eyes locked, they both felt strange feelings coursing through themselves. Desperation, happiness, relief…a million things neither was really prepared for. Burt and Carole exchanged glances and noticed the gaze shared between the two. They stood and ushered Kurt out the door, calling after Finn that he could just drive the Navigator home when visiting hours ended.

Finn took a seat next to Sam's bed and instinctively reached out to hold his hand. Sam didn't even flinch at the contact. It was a simple, comforting gesture, and Sam found himself wishing Finn would _always_ be there to do that. It wasn't that easy, though, and he knew it. Sam sighed and asked, "When did my life get so horrible?"

Confused, Finn asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember when the worst thing that would happen to us was that we couldn't hang out when we wanted to?" Sam pressed gently.

He thought back to the months before Rachel's party and how _simple_ it all seemed. Nobody knew about their little get-togethers, and they didn't have to worry about putting a label on it all. Now it was all so much more complicated. Quinn wasn't wrong when she said having the baby thing done and over with made her life so much easier. "I remember, yeah," Finn shrugged.

They didn't speak. Sam just thought about how much different his life might be if there had been no baby. Finn couldn't keep his mind from returning to those nights before Rachel's party, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "You regret it, don't you?"

Sam's eyes fixed on Finn's and he said softly, "No. I just wish it had all gone differently."

"I don't regret it."

Finn's voice was confident but he looked anything but. His hands were wringing in his lap and his eyes were darting around the room nervously. Sam stared over at Finn, confused. "Kissing you isn't like kissing Quinn or Rachel or even Santana…" he tried to explain. His face flushed bright red as he said, "It's better…so much better…and it scares me, but I don't regret it."

Sam looked ready to cry again and Finn wondered if he should have just not said anything. "I don't want to talk about this right now," he said weakly. "I…I need to rest."

Finn frowned. He wanted to talk about it all now. He knew what he was thinking and what he wanted, and if he didn't say it soon he was going to _explode_. Finn also didn't want to see Sam cry, so he nodded and stood up. "We'll pick you up tomorrow," he said softly.

Without another word, Finn left the hospital room looking dejected and a little disappointed. Sam stared after him, amazed at how easily Finn had just given up.

He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. Things weren't as easy as Finn was trying to make them seem. Sam couldn't just accept all of this – not so soon, not so easily. And since when was it easy for Finn to accept something like this, anyway?

None of this explained why Sam felt so heartbroken at the expression on Finn's face, though. He spent the rest of the night trying to figure it out, finally drifting into a fitful sleep around the time the sun was peeking through the shades.


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning Sam and Finn didn't exchange two words the entire way home. Burt and Carole watched from the front seat with concern as they drove home, all three boys in the backseat, an awkward air surrounding them. Once home, Burt helped Sam down the hallway into his room and Sam climbed into bed awkwardly. It was where he'd be confined to for the next three months; Sam was less than happy to get situated.

"The spare TV is down here in case you want to watch something," Burt said, pointing to a small TV with a VCR and DVD attachment. "Just text us if you need anything."

Sam nodded and thanked him softly. Burt left, followed by Carole and Kurt, leaving Finn there with Sam. It was the second time they'd been alone in less than twenty-four hours and Finn was really anxious to tell Sam what he wanted to. "I'm tired," Sam said, avoiding Finn's eyes. "I think I'm going to take a nap."

Finn looked put out, but nodded and left. Sam sighed; he almost wished Finn would have stayed, even though Sam wanted to be alone. Wasn't persistence the sign of real feelings anyway? He didn't think too much about it – he really _was_ tired; he'd been up most of the night thinking.

He felt himself dozing off almost right away, and he didn't wake until almost four hours later when Kurt shook him awake. "Hey," he said gently.

"Hi," Sam mumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"I didn't want to wake you, but you need to take your meds," Kurt shrugged.

The blonde nodded and accepted the medicine. Kurt just sat there in the rocking chair for a moment, even after Sam handed the empty water glass back to him. "What?" Sam asked.

Kurt looked at Sam almost hesitantly, like he didn't want to push his boundaries. "What happened between you and Finn?" he asked gently. "Ever since yesterday you haven't really talked to him and he looks pretty upset."

Sam sighed and closed his eyes. He shouldn't have been surprised that Kurt brought it up – Kurt was very perceptive and rather defensive of his step-brother. "He wants to talk about this stuff and I don't," Sam shrugged. "I'm not ready to deal with it all."

"You're going to have to talk about it eventually," Kurt pointed out. "I'm not saying you should do it now, but Finn's beating himself up over this and I don't even think he didn't anything wrong."

"He didn't," Sam insisted. "I'm just…scared."

"Finn isn't going to hurt you," Kurt told Sam softly. "He's a good guy and I can tell he really cares about you."

"It's not that easy."

Kurt raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the problem?"

"I don't know if I'm ready for all of this," Sam confessed. "I want to be with him and I want this to work but I'm tired of people at school thinking I'm weird or some sort of loser. I don't know if I can handle that, especially after having a freaking _baby_."

Kurt bit his lip before asking, "Is that what Finn wants?"

"What?" Sam asked.

"Does Finn really want to come out to everyone at school?" Kurt repeated.

He couldn't really believe it if it was true. Finn seemed like the kind of guy to keep something like that a secret until well after graduation. Sam's hesitant look told him that Finn probably hadn't said anything one way or the other. "You guys _have_ talked about this, right?" Kurt asked.

Again Sam looked guilty and Kurt instantly knew what was going on. "You two are never going to get anywhere if you block him out," Kurt pointed out. "Just…talk. Tell him what you just told me and see what he thinks. I honestly can't see him wanting to come out to everyone at school anyway."

"People will know," Sam insisted. "We'll be in the same house and…"

"Your parents kicked you out," Kurt shrugged. "You're staying with us. If anyone wants to know more than that, who cares? It's none of their business anyway."

Sam didn't say another word. Kurt knew he was thinking about it, so he didn't push it any further. "Have you guys talked about baby names or anything?" Kurt asked.

Sam shook his head. "I'll go tell Finn to grab the book," Kurt said with a smile.

He stood and left the room, leaving Sam completely confused. What book was Kurt talking about? Kurt returned with Finn in tow a few minutes later. Kurt sat in the rocking chair he'd been in before and Finn sat down at the foot of Sam's bed. He had a pastel colored book in his hands, and upon further inspection Sam realized it was a book full of baby names. It already had a few dog-eared pages and Sam asked, "You've been looking already?"

Finn seemed surprised that Sam was even speaking to him, so instead of speaking he just nodded. "Can I see?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Finn handed over the book without a second thought and Sam began flipping through it. Amie, Brynn, Dana, Emilie…he'd marked quite a few names and Sam felt a little overwhelmed. "What names do you like?" Finn asked hesitantly.

Sam shrugged and said, "I don't know. Something simple?"

"Well, I kind of liked the name Lucy," Finn admitted.

"Pretty," Kurt commented with a nod.

Finn looked relieved that at least _Kurt_ agreed. As Sam skimmed the pages, he nodded and kept reading. "I like this one," he offered, holding the book out to Finn, keeping his finger on a name.

"Annika?" Finn asked.

Kurt stared between the two. They both seemed hesitant to say anything one way or the other so he felt the needed to mediate. "Annika Lucy," he commented. "I like it."

Finn and Sam looked at each other before nodding. "Me too," Sam admitted.

His eyes never left Finn's and the intensity was almost too much to handle. Finn just nodded in agreement and Kurt took that as his cue to leave. "Annika Lucy Evans," Finn said softly.

Sam bit his lip and looked away. He leaned against his pillows and said softly, "I'm sorry about last night."

Finn looked confused and asked, "Why?"

"I was kind of rude," Sam shrugged. "You just wanted to talk. I…I should have made you leave like that."

"Ah, it's okay," Finn insisted, a small smile crossing his features. "I'm used to people just kind of telling me to shut up."

Sam looked saddened at that statement and asked, "What were you trying to tell me?"

Finn looked uncomfortable, but spoke anyway. "It's just…I think I like you, Sam. A lot," he sighed.

He winced and waited for the rejection that he was sure would be coming his way. Finn was never really that good at just putting himself out there, and now that he had, he was _terrified_. "I…" Sam began. His voice trembled as he searched for the right words. "Finn, look at me."

Sam instantly regretted saying that, because when Finn's eyes met his own, the gaze was so intense it was a little intimidating. "Finn, I really like you too," Sam admitted, his eyes dropping to his hands, which were resting against his swollen belly. "I want to try this whole relationship thing out, but…"

"But what?" Finn asked.

He wasn't quite sure he wanted to know the answer, but he asked anyway. Finn's heart raced in his chest, his clammy hands wringing in his lap as Sam drew out the tension-filled silence. "I'm afraid of what it will mean," Sam finished.

Finn looked confused and Sam sighed. "I mean at school and with our friends and stuff," he continued. "Like…I like what we had before. The secret thing worked well because we didn't have all the pressure. I'm scared of going to school and having people find out. What if they don't like it and try to hurt us? You saw what happened to Kurt."

Everything Sam was saying made perfect sense. Finn had thought about it all many times, and for a while he thought about ignoring every little thing he'd felt in exchange for the comfort of being accepted at school. "Well…" Finn began slowly. "I don't know if I'd be ready to tell everyone at school. The glee club, sure, but nobody else. Not yet."

Sam nodded and said, "I could handle that."

Finn looked up quickly, incredulous eyes meeting Sam's. A smile was beginning to cross Finn's features and Sam felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. "So…what does this mean?" Finn asked, his lopsided smile already plastered on his face.

Sam shrugged and said, "What's it all supposed to mean?"

Finn's eyes shifted around the empty room before falling upon Sam's again. "That we're boyfriends?" he offered.

His face turned a little red at the sentiment, but Sam only felt comfort in the whole situation. Smiling back at Finn, he nodded and said, "Yeah, it can mean that."

"Sweet," Finn grinned.

Sam couldn't help but smile in response. Things were working out. He and Finn were going to try this. The only people that were going to know about it would be their family and the glee club. No pressure. "Want to watch a movie?" Finn asked.

With a nod, Sam shifted over on his twin bed leaving just enough room for Finn to squish on the other side of. His bed was small and they'd be close, but neither of them saw anything wrong with it. Finn put in one of the James Bond movies before scooting under the blankets with Sam, his arm automatically falling around the blonde's shoulders.

Sam didn't even shrink away when he turned to the side and his belly hit Finn. It wasn't that embarrassing anymore; Finn was the baby's father after all. It didn't take long for Sam to fall asleep; he always seemed to be tired, and cuddling with Finn was extremely comfortable, he discovered.

Hours later when Finn didn't show up for his usual post-dinner snack (which was the size of a dinner in itself), Burt and Carole felt the need to check on him. They went up to his room, only to find it empty. "He's down in Sam's room," Kurt called down the hallway to them.

He smirked as he watched them wander downstairs, Burt looking skeptical but Carole looking rather excited. They stood in the doorway to Sam's room, staring over at the boys. They were curled up under the blankets, the credits on their movie rolling, softly snoring. Sam's face was buried in Finn's neck and Finn held on to Sam protectively. "They shouldn't be sleeping in the same bed," Burt said, stepping into the room.

Carole grabbed him by the shoulder and said, "They'll be fine. They're just sleeping, and I don't think they'll get up to any more mischief than they already have."

Burt opened his mouth to argue, but he knew his wife had a point. He nodded and walked down the hall, leaving Carole to stand in the doorway.

She knew one day Finn would realize how he really felt when it came to dating; she'd figured it out back when he and Noah Puckerman were best friends in middle school. Watching Finn realize it on his own was better, though.

Gazing over at the two of them, she nodded. They were going to be great parents, even if their time had come a little too soon. Slowly she pulled the door shut, the soft click far too quiet to wake either of them up. With a content smile, Carole made her way down the hall to her own bedroom.

For the first time in a while, things were completely at peace in the Hummel-Hudson household.


	17. Chapter 17

Adjusting to a second wave of bed rest had been easier for Sam than he thought. One of the medications he was on made him drowsy, so when he wasn't watching the classes that he'd missed on DVD or doing his homework, Sam was almost always sleeping. He and Finn would find moments here and there to talk, but mostly Finn would just try (and usually fail) at helping Sam with homework. The rest of the family found his efforts rather endearing, though.

By October, Sam was restless. He wanted to go see the homecoming game; that was his team out there and if he couldn't play with them, the least he could do was show up to support them. "Sam, it's not a good idea," Kurt kept insisting. "We can tape the game like we tape your classes."

"No, I want to be there," Sam pressed. "All I have to do is sit. It's like what I do here except there."

Kurt looked skeptical, but didn't want to push it. "I'll see what Carole thinks. You should ask Santana's dad, too," Kurt told him, tight-lipped and frustrated.

Sam asked both Dr. Lopez and Carole later that evening and if he promised to sit still and bundle up, he would be okay. Kurt was still hesitant, but he didn't argue. Sam pulled on a large jacket and his belly was rather well hidden. They brought blankets and cushions and climbed into Carole's car.

When the players were out on the field stretching, Sam's face was contorted into a frown. "What's wrong?" Kurt asked, noticing the blonde's sadness.

"I just miss it," he shrugged, never tearing his eyes from the field.

"You can always play again next year," Kurt offered.

Sam turned and locked eyes with Kurt as he said, "No, I can't."

Kurt wasn't entirely sure what Sam was expecting him to say, so he just kept quiet. The game started and by the end of the first quarter, McKinley was winning 7 to 3. By halftime, Sam was freaking out because McKinley was losing 7 to 10. "If they had a decent kicker, they might be doing a little better," Sam muttered, his breath puffing out in the cold. "They could have _at least_ gotten a field goal and evened up the score before halftime."

Kurt just let Sam ramble on, because the blonde was crabbier than Kurt wanted to deal with. He also didn't feel like pointing out that he was the only decent kicker McKinley had ever had on the team, at least in the last decade.

The second half of the game was a little better, at least. It was evident that Karofsky had gotten a good talking-to from Bieste at halftime, because he was blocking Finn like he was supposed to be, which was helping them a lot. Whatever Bieste had said to the team at halftime had helped a lot, because when the game ended, the score was 21 to 10 – McKinley had won.

The crowd stood and cheered, including Sam, and they all cascaded slowly down the stands to congratulate the players. Kurt wanted to hold Sam back and make him sit and stop exerting himself, but he didn't have the heart. They rushed onto the field, Sam in the lead, and ran right up to Finn. "What are you doing here!" he asked, seeing Sam approaching.

"I came to watch you guys play," Sam beamed.

"But…?" Finn trailed off, glancing briefly down at Sam's belly.

It was well covered by the jacket, and to most people it just looked like Sam had gained weight. "Dr. Lopez said I'd be fine," Sam smiled. "I forgot how much I missed football."

Finn looked worried but put on a fake smile and nodded. "After Bieste chewed out Karofsky, the team was actually pretty good," Finn admitted.

"You should have heard Sam throughout the game," Kurt laughed from Finn's side. "He had his own commentary going on and everything – mostly he just wished you guys had a good kicker."

"Well if you'd join the team again," Finn began.

"Not going to happen," Kurt cut him off.

Sam stared over at Kurt, surprised. "You were on the football team?" he asked.

"Yeah," Burt laughed, clapping Sam on the shoulder. "I think he was trying to impress me or something. Who knows. He was a damn good kicker though."

Kurt looked proud but didn't say anything else about the matter. Puck came by to ask Finn if he was going to the after party at one of the Cheerio's houses, and his mom nodded politely that he could. Finn beamed and said, "Thanks for coming guys."

"Of course, sweetheart," Carole insisted, leaning in to kiss Finn on the cheek and give him a hug goodbye.

She stepped away and Finn said goodbye to Burt and Kurt. His eyes searched for Sam and when they found him, his heart sank. "Sam? You okay?" he asked, stepping towards the blonde.

Sam winced but nodded. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and said, "Yeah. I think I should get…" he reached out for Finn, almost falling over with pain. "Oh God…"

Finn looked panicked and looked for Carole and Burt. "Let's get him to the car," Burt said seriously.

Kurt's eyes were wide and he stepped forward to help Sam. "Mom, what's going on?" Finn asked as they slowly began walking away.

"Go change, sweetheart. We'll meet them at the hospital," she told him, trying to keep calm.

She'd been skeptical when Dr. Lopez said Sam would be fine to go to the football game. It seemed risky, but he _was_ a doctor. She watched as Finn bolted across the field towards the showers.

"Santana!" he called as he was running. "Call your dad!"

She turned to see Finn running by in a panic and instantly pulled out her cell phone. "Dad? Yeah? Meet us at the hospital," she said. Rolling her eyes, she said, "I told you it was a bad idea! No, I have a ride, just go."

Finn's fingers fumbled with his uniform and he could barely get out of it with the panic he was in. "Woah, dude, calm down," Puck said, sauntering over to where Finn was currently freaking out.

"I have to go…" Finn mumbled, pulling his pads over his shoulders.

Puck looked confused and asked, "What's going on?"

Fumbling around in his locker for street clothes, Finn mumbled, "Sam…hospital…gotta go…"

"Calm down," Puck said seriously, stepping forward to push Finn away from the locker. He pulled out clothes piece by piece, trying to help Finn. "You gotta breathe, dude, because he's probably much more scared than you."

"He's already gone. Burt and Kurt took him. I can't be late…" Finn muttered.

A few of the guys gave Puck and Finn strange looks as they walked in to shower and change, but nobody said a thing. Finally Finn was dressed, his khaki's and flannel button down clinging to his sticky, sweaty skin. He was still too warm to pull on his vest and slung his bag over his shoulder quickly, almost hitting Puck in the process. "Call me, okay? Once you…well…" Puck trailed off. He wasn't quite sure what to say; it was too early for the baby and he knew that. "Just…call."

Finn nodded and bolted out of the locker room in search of his mom. They ran out to the Navigator that Finn had borrowed again (it was like he and Kurt shared it now, Finn drove it so much). Carole took the keys from Finn; his hands were shaking so much he couldn't even get the key in the ignition. They traded places in the car and she drove them through town as fast as she could.

When they got to the hospital Kurt met them at the door and led them up to the room Sam was in. He was hooked up to several machines and Finn was scared to turn the corner and walk in. "It's fine, sweetheart," Carole insisted.

"He's doing better," Kurt offered.

Finn swallowed hard and walked in. Sam was lying in the bed looking exhausted already. "Hey," Finn said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking over to the bed.

"Hi," Sam replied weakly.

"How are you feeling?" Finn asked.

Sam sighed and shook his head. "It's too early."

"It'll be okay," Finn insisted, although he wasn't quite sure. "I mean, it's only like a month, right?"

Sam didn't say anything. He winced and clutched at the blankets on the bed. Finn stared, shocked that Sam was still in pain. "I thought they gave you pain medicine?" he asked.

"They did," Sam said through gritted teeth. "These pains are normal though apparently."

"Am I supposed to be doing something?" Finn asked stupidly.

Sam's face was bright red, whether from the pain or blushing Finn would never know. He held out his hand, though, and Finn happily took it. It didn't seem fair that Sam was going through all that pain. "When will it stop?" Finn asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"When I have her," Sam explained. "I'm not ready to have her. She can't be early. She won't be healthy."

Sam squeezed his eyes shut. He wasn't going to cry. He was scared for his baby's life and for the pain that was to come but he was _not_ going to cry. "It's going to be okay. The doctors will take care of her," Finn gave Sam's hand a light squeeze and hoped he was speaking the truth.

Carole, Kurt, and Burt took turns poking their heads in to see how Sam was doing, otherwise they gave him privacy. Instead they paced the waiting room, hoping that everything was going to be okay. Finn never left Sam's side. His hand was squeezed to death several times by Sam, who was undergoing a lot of pain. At a quarter to one in the morning, Dr. Lopez walked in with some medical charts. "Sam, the best option for you and the baby right now is to go ahead with a cesarean section birth," he explained.

Sam looked panicked but nodded. "Wait, what does that mean?" Finn asked, confused.

"We'll be removing the baby through an incision in Sam's abdomen," Dr. Lopez explained. "If we leave her in there much longer things could become more complicated."

"Wait, you can't just cut him open!" Finn shouted.

"Finn, it's fine," Sam cut him off, squeezing his hand. "I don't care. I just want her out. I want her to be okay."

Incredulously, Finn stared down at Sam. "You didn't want to have her like that though," he pointed out.

"I don't care anymore," Sam said. He paused to wince before saying, "I just want this all to be over. I'm tired of being in pain."

"I'll send some nurses in here to get you ready and I'll see you in surgery," Dr. Lopez said before leaving the room.

Finn looked absolutely terrified. "Wait, so she's going to be born _right now_?" he asked.

Sam nodded, his blonde hair sticking to his forehead where he was sweating. Two nurses walked in and told Finn he needed to wait in the hall while they prepared Sam for surgery. He stepped outside reluctantly. "What's happening?" Kurt asked.

He looked positively terrified. "I mean I saw a bunch of nurses walk in and you got kicked out," Kurt continued, speaking a mile a minute. "What's going on?"

"They're uh…" Finn took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "They're getting ready for surgery. He's going to have the baby."

Kurt couldn't tell if he was supposed to be happy or sad; Finn's expression was hard to read. "It's going to be okay, Finn," he settled on. "These doctors and nurses know what they're doing."

"I don't know if I'm ready for this," Finn confessed.

His watery eyes met Kurt's and neither could speak. He looked scared and Kurt just reached out for his brother, pulling him into a hug. "It'll all be okay, Finn. You're both ready for this, it just seems scary right now," Kurt mumbled against Finn's shoulder. He stepped back and said, "Dad, Carole, and I aren't going anywhere. We'll be right here waiting."

Finn nodded and became distracted by the nurse shoving polyester scrubs at him. Kurt pulled a face at how horrendous they were, but helped Finn into them. He was dragged away as Sam was wheeled down the hall. Sam looked pale and tired, but Finn never left his side.

Following Sam into surgery was almost scarier than _talking_ about surgery. Everything was so clean and shiny and intimidating. Finn sat in the chair they gave him, which was right by Sam's face. A large curtain blocked Sam's abdomen from view, and Finn was grateful for this. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to look. Sam looked scared, but his eyes locked with Finn's and they felt a sense of comfort at having the other there. "It'll be okay," Finn insisted, even though he had trouble believing it himself.

Sam's eyes fluttered closed then open again. The world was spinning out of focus. He saw a look of panic in Finn's eyes before the world blacked out completely.


	18. Chapter 18

When Sam came to, he was lying in a hospital bed, feeling sore and alone. He remembered what had been going on right before he passed out and instantly he panicked. Spotting Finn snoring in the rocking chair across the room, Sam shouted, "Finn!"

Finn woke with a start, looking around the room, confused. "Wha…?" he trailed off.

He wasn't quite awake, but Sam didn't care. "What happened?" Sam asked, panicked. "Where's Annika? Is everything okay?"

"Calm down," Finn told him, walking over to the bed. "Don't pull your stitches."

Sam didn't _care_ about his stitches, though, he cared about is _daughter_. "Tell me what's going on, Finn," Sam said firmly.

"Chill out," Finn said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached out for Sam's hand, but the blonde whipped it away. He stared up at Finn, demanding with his eyes that Finn spill it all. "Annika is fine," he sighed. "She's premature, so that means she's kind of little, but Santana's dad said she was going to make it."

"Where is she?" Sam asked.

His heart was still racing in his chest. "Right now they've got her in the Nick room," Finn said, confused. "I'm not really sure what that means, but…"

"He means the NICU," Kurt said, stringing the letters together so it sounded like a word. He wandered into the room with a sympathetic look on his face. "It's just where they keep the sick and premature babies."

"I want to see her," Sam demanded.

Kurt nodded and said, "I'll get a nurse."

"You scared me," Finn said softly. "When we were in there you passed out and there was so much going on. Nurses were trying to wake you up and the doctor was just trying to get Annika out. I was really scared…I'm glad you're both okay."

Sam sighed and mumbled, "I'm so weak."

"No, you're not," a nurse said matter-of-factly as she walked in. "It's not the first time someone's passed out going into surgery. You and your baby are healthy so there's no reason to be upset about it. She's been on the machines for a few hours now so she should be okay to hold for a bit."

Sam's stomach churned at those words: his daughter had been on the machines. He didn't know what it meant but it was _scary_. The nurse helped Sam move from his bed to the wheelchair, making sure he didn't hurt himself as he did so. When they left the room, Kurt, Burt, and Carole followed. They stopped at the windows outside the NICU as Sam and Finn went in with the nurse. Sam's expression was hard as he was pushed over to an incubator with pink blankets inside.

The sight was more than Sam was ready for. Little tubes and wires ran into the clear crib, connecting to his daughter and making her look so tiny and weak. "She only needs to be here for a few weeks, just to be sure her lungs developed fully," the nurse told him. "Other than watching her lungs, you delivered a healthy baby girl," the nurse smiled. "She was five pounds even."

Sam's hands shook as his daughter was wrapped up in blankets and slowly pulled from her bed and placed in his arms. Finn stood to the side, watching with wide eyes. Tubes and wires ran along Sam's arms and the feeling was awful. She squirmed in his arms, though, and when she let out a soft cooing noise, he felt a little better. He stared down at her incredulously – this was his baby girl. _He just had a baby_.

Sam hadn't expected it to feel so amazing to hold her in his arms for the first time. This baby – the reason he'd spent endless days in bed or wearing girl's shirts to hide it, the reason he had to quit football and have no social life – she was beautiful. It all seemed so worth it in the long run. He tried not to think about the fact that she'd be confined to a hospital for the first few weeks of his life because the moment was too wonderful to spoil. "Did you guys decide on a name?" the nurse asked.

Sam nodded, but words were failing him. Softly, Finn said, "Annika. Annika Lucy."

"Pretty," the nurse smiled.

Finn spotted this – no, _their_ – family outside the room and asked, "Do they get to see her, too?"

With a small nod, the nurse beckoned them into the room. "Do you want to hold her again?" Sam asked Finn, his voice weak and cracking with emotion.

"Again?" Finn asked, confused.

"Yeah, didn't you hold her right after she was born?" Sam looked up at Finn, confused.

"No," Finn shook his head as his family approached. "They kind of took her away right away. Then when they asked, I thought maybe you'd want to hold her first, so…yeah, no, I haven't held her yet."

The nurse looked between them as Sam struggled with the idea of passing his baby girl off to Finn; she was hooked up to so many things he didn't want to hurt her. The nurse stepped in and slowly moved the baby to Finn's arms. His eyes widened and he stared down at her in surprise. "I think I'm gonna break her," he said nervously. "She's so little."

Carole stepped to his side and peered over his arm at her granddaughter. "You'll be a wonderful father, Finn," she told him, tears welling in her eyes. "She's so beautiful, you two."

"Did you pick a name for her yet?" Burt asked.

"Annika Lucy," Sam told them.

"Pretty," Burt nodded.

He wandered over to peer over Carole's shoulder. They peered down at the little girl in Finn's arms, but Sam's thoughts were far from them, even as he watched. "How are you doing?" Kurt asked softly, standing next to Sam's wheelchair.

"I'm in pain, but she's okay, so I guess I'm good," Sam shrugged.

He didn't sound happy, though. "Something's bothering you, though," Kurt pointed out.

Sam hated it when Kurt did that – his all-knowing thing where he could read you like a book even though you didn't want to be read. Sam wanted to be left to his thoughts but Kurt wasn't going to let that happen. "I want to be able to bring her home," Sam confessed.

"You'll be able to," Kurt insisted. "Just not right away."

"That's the thing – I want to bring her home _right away_," he shot. "And it's kind of my fault she's going to be stuck here."

Confused, Kurt looked down and asked, "How?"

"If my body didn't suck so bad, she wouldn't have been born yet," Sam explained like it was the most obvious reason in the world. "But because I was an idiot and didn't eat right and I insisted on going to that damn football game – _this_ happened."

Kurt frowned, "It was going to be complicated no matter what you did. You're a _boy_ Sam."

"Yes, on top of everything else, I'm a _freak_," he shot. "And because of it all, my daughter is going to spend the first few weeks of her life in a _hospital_. It's not fair."

Before Kurt could get another word in, Finn was kneeling in front of Sam and slowly passing Annika back to him with the nurse's help. Sam stared down at his daughter sadly. She looked so small and helpless, hidden in blankets and tangled in cords. Finn stared over at Sam, hoping to make eye contact, but it never happened. He pressed a soft kiss to Sam's forehead before standing and following Burt, Carole, and Kurt over to the doorway.

Sam let out a shaky breath as Finn said goodbye to the rest. A shaky finger found its way into Annika's tiny fist. "If you'd like to feed her, you can," the nurse offered. "She'll be getting hungry soon."

"I'm actually really tired," Sam told her softly. "Can I go back to my room?"

She looked at him sadly but did as he asked. Sam's arms felt empty and cold as Annika was taken away and put back in her incubator. The machine was going to keep her healthy, but he hated it. Just the name made her sound like some sort of animal and she was better than that – she _deserved_ better.

After Annika was settled back in her bed, Sam let himself be pushed back down the hall to his room. Being helped into bed made him feel so weak, but he didn't want to hurt more so he went with it. When Finn walked in, Sam pretended to be asleep. He didn't want to talk about anything, especially not with Finn.

Finn sat next to Sam's bed anyway. He took a limp hand into his own and whispered, "It'll all be okay, Sam. I know you're upset now, but she's healthy – we should be happy about that. You're both going to be okay and I…well…"

Whatever he said next, Sam would never hear. He purposely thought of anything else but Finn because he did _not_ need optimism. Sam needed realism and for Finn to stop pretending that nothing was wrong.

Sam was in a foul mood the rest of his stay at the hospital, and while Finn just wanted to kick a chair and yell at him, he bit his tongue. Carole had warned him that Sam could be going through some confusing emotions right now (apparently pregnant girls did, and the medicine he was on gave him some girl hormones anyway) and he just needed support.

Which explains why Finn was currently standing around Sam's room being yelled at by Sam and he wasn't even arguing back. Sam kept saying that he wanted to be left alone, even though he wasn't supposed to move much without help because the stitches were still there. "I'm old enough to do this stuff on my own, Finn!" he shouted. "You don't need to treat me like a baby just because I had one!"

Finn held up his hands in defeat and walked out the door. Sam sat on his bed, tears stinging his eyes and his throat hoarse from yelling. He hated being so emotional all the time, and sometimes he'd find himself yelling at Finn without even really meaning to or remembering why.

That afternoon had been the last straw for Finn, though. He stormed upstairs and slammed the door shut. With a frown, Kurt excused himself from his video chat with Blaine before wandering down the hall and knocking before poking his head around the door. "What's wrong?" Kurt asked.

"You heard us," Finn shot. "Sam was yelling at me again. I'm sick and tired of it. I know mom said it's normal, but it sucks, dude."

Finn let out a sigh of frustration and Kurt said, "I'll talk to him."

"If he yells at me for it, I'm yelling at you," Finn warned.

The idea of Sam yelling at Finn for Kurt yelling at Sam seemed a little ridiculous, but with Sam's emotional outbursts lately, it didn't seem completely unrealistic. Kurt accepted that this would be his fate and closed the door. He made his way down to Sam's room, trying to calm himself. The last thing he needed to do was call Sam out and start yelling.

He knocked and waited for Sam to answer; he wasn't sure what was going to set the blonde off. When he walked in to a muffled "come in," Kurt was surprised to see Sam curled up in a ball on his bed, crying. "What's going on?" Kurt asked gently.

Sam wiped frantically at his face and said, "I don't know. I don't even know why I yell at Finn all the time. I'm just so angry."

"I understand you're upset about Annika," Kurt admitted, wandering over to Sam's bed and sitting on the end of it. "You have a right to be. But you also need to know that things could be far worse."

Sam looked at Kurt with a scowl. "It's true," Kurt shrugged. "Remember this morning when we visited Annika and you passed that baby that was the size of his father's hand? Annika could have been born that small, but she wasn't. Remember that baby that was hooked up to a respirator because she was born too premature? That could have been Annika, but it's not. She's so lucky, Sam, and you need to know that you two were very, _very_ fortunate."

Kurt had a point, Sam knew, but that still didn't explain why he was so angry. "I understand that you've got a lot of…emotions right now," Kurt admitted. "It's probably because of all the medications you're on. But just know…Finn is trying, Sam. He's as new to all of this as you and he just wants to help."

"I was kind of harsh, wasn't I?" he asked.

Kurt nodded and Sam said, "I just..sometimes I blow up without thinking."

Kurt didn't know what to tell him. "I guess," he shrugged. "You just have to put more effort into thinking before you speak. I know it won't be easy, and it probably won't work most of the time, but you could always start with apologizing?"

Sam nodded. If Finn ever bothered trying to talk to him again, Sam would apologize. It was easier said than done, though. "Do you want anything to eat or drink before we all get ready for bed?" Kurt asked.

"No," Sam shook his head. "Thanks."

Kurt left, leaving Sam alone to his thoughts. Kurt had a point, he knew, but that still didn't stop Sam's frustration. He just kept thinking about Annika and how far away she was…and the fact that he _still_ hadn't fed her and she was a week old.


	19. Chapter 19

"Carole? Can I talk to you?"

Kurt wandered into the dining room where Carole was currently nursing a piping hot cup of coffee. "Of course," she smiled, motioning to the chair next to her.

He sat down and said seriously, "I'm worried about Sam."

Carole frowned and asked, "Is it because he's been so upset?"

"Well, kind of," Kurt shrugged. "It's more because of how he acts when we visit Annika though. Finn holds her and feeds her and he's gotten really used to taking care of her. Sam will barely hold her, never mind everything else."

She'd been wondering if Sam's mood had been transferring to his visits with Annika. "We were going to go this afternoon once school ended – do you think I should do anything?" Kurt asked.

"Well," Carole began slowly. "I know Finn probably won't like this idea, but maybe Sam should visit her _without_ Finn. He's used to having Finn to take over for him and he needs to learn. I also think he needs some alone time with her."

Kurt nodded. "I'll talk to Finn at school," he said.

"Let me know how it goes," she insisted.

Kurt promised he would and stood from the table to go wake Sam and Finn. Sam was able to return to school; he was only slightly sore and his stomach had gone down dramatically in size. It still looked like he'd gained a few pounds, but nothing out of the ordinary for an ex-athlete. After lunch Kurt managed to pull Finn to the side. "I need you to do a big favor for me," Kurt began, looking up at Finn anxiously.

Finn looked confused and a little scared when he said, "Um…depends on what it is."

Kurt looked defeated and he said, "I need you to go home after school."

"But…we were going to visit Annika," Finn argued lamely.

"I know," Kurt nodded. "Sam still is, but he's been so detached from Annika – it isn't good. I think if he's there without you, he'll start feeding her and taking care of her."

"I really want to see her," Finn said sadly.

Being a parent suited Finn; he had the natural protective instincts and he caught on surprisingly well to the care of a baby. He definitely caught on to parenting faster than algebra if his grades were anything to go by. "You'll get to…tomorrow," Kurt insisted. "This is really, really important that you do this for me, Finn."

"But…I don't even really get why you want me to," he argued, frowning.

"Sam and Annika haven't bonded at all since she was born. You and Annika have, but _both_ parents need to," Kurt explained. "You have to start these sorts of things early or things might go wrong."

Finn frowned; the idea of things going wrong scared him. Slowly he nodded and said, "Yeah, I guess today I can go home instead."

Kurt looked up at Finn seriously and said, "Thank you."

With his little lopsided smile, Finn nodded and replied, "Yeah, you're welcome."

After school Sam didn't even notice that Finn had left with Puck until they were halfway to the hospital. "Wait…where's Finn?" Sam asked.

"He had to help Mr. Schue with something," Kurt lied.

Sam frowned but accepted this answer. When they got to the hospital, Kurt shrunk back and kept out of sight as Sam walked into the NICU. Sam needed time alone with Annika and Kurt wasn't going to get in the way of it. The nurse, Cortney they learned soon after Annika's birth, was used to their faces by now, and seemed surprised with Sam arrived on his own. She asked about Kurt, but Sam just shrugged and said, "He must have gone for coffee or something."

Cortney smiled and pulled Annika from her incubator. "It's so great that she gets to spend her last day in the NICU with you," she told him as she nestled the baby girl in his arms.

"Her last day?" Sam asked, looking up at her quickly.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I told you guys yesterday, too, but you seemed distracted so maybe you didn't hear me. She'll be moved to the nursery tomorrow. We'll watch her there for a few days and if everything goes okay, you can bring her home on Friday."

Cortney beamed as Sam took in the information. "Do you feel like feeding her today?" she asked hopefully.

Sam didn't answer for a moment, but when he stared down at Annika he found himself nodding his head in response. Cortney silently walked away in search of a bottle. "Hey baby girl," he whispered, sliding his finger into her tiny fist.

She'd grown so much since she was born – it was unbelievable. She was nearing seven pounds and she already felt heavier in his arms. She squirmed in his arms and let out a soft coo that turned into a muted wail. Sam felt panic coursing through his veins as Annika burst into tears. He shushed her and patted her bum gently, but it didn't help. "She's just hungry," Cortney said as she approached. "We've had her on a pretty good schedule so I knew she'd start crying soon."

She held out the bottle and Sam took it gratefully. Moments later Annika was suckling happily at the bottle, tears completely subsided. "See? No problem," Cortney reassured him.

Cortney busied herself with cleaning up Annika's incubator as Sam fed his daughter. They were in a comfortable silence until Sam spoke up, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she replied, spinning around and fixing her smile on him.

"Am I a bad person for not being with her all the time while she's here?" he asked hesitantly.

"Not at all," she said instantly. "You guys are always here, and you stay longer than a lot of the other parents."

"What about for not feeding her until now?" Sam pressed.

Cortney's smile faded at that. "Well, in typical pregnancies, feeding is a way for a mother and baby to bond. Your situation is different, obviously, so I suppose maybe you should have been, but there are other ways to bond with her besides feeding," Cortney told him.

Sam looked saddened when he asked, "What should I do?"

"The easiest thing to do is kangaroo care," she said with a smile. "Once you have her at home with her, snuggle up under a blanket together. Since babies connect to others through touching, it's best if you're shirtless and she's in a diaper. Make sure you're both warm and then just lay there with her on your chest. She'll feel super connected to you and get used to what you feel like. Keep feeding her, too."

With a nod, Sam said, "Thanks."

He finished feeding her in silence, watching as her tiny hands reached out for nothing, her muscles working on their own. Being alone with Annika was relaxing. He had plenty of time to think and reflect and realized that maybe things weren't so bad after all. When it came time to go, Sam asked Kurt if they could make a pit stop on the way home. "Of course," Kurt nodded. "Just tell me where."

"My parents' house," he said instantly.

Sam stared forward, a steely resolve in his eyes. Kurt wanted to ask Sam a million different things, but he kept his mouth shut. Something had clicked in Sam's brain while he was visiting Annika, and for the most part, that was a good thing. When they reached Sam's house, Kurt asked, "Do you want me to wait here?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded, nervously stepping out of the car. "Please."

Kurt watched as Sam approached the front door of his house. Sam's heart was pounding in his chest, and he knew deep down what he was doing was a terrible idea, but he had hope. Quinn's mom had gone back to her after all that time; surely it wasn't out of the question for his parents to do the same? He rang the doorbell and waited anxiously as he heard feet approaching.

His mother answered the door and stared at him with wide eyes. "Who is it?" his father called from the living room.

"It's me," Sam spoke up.

It seemed like all of time and space froze in that moment. Sam's parents stared at him, surprised that he'd come back. His siblings peeked down the stairs but never came down to greet him. "What are you doing here?" Mr. Evans asked, walking into the foyer where Sam currently stood with his mother. The door shut behind him and he felt trapped. "Come to ask us for money?"

"No," Sam told him firmly. "I just thought you guys should know that you're grandparents."

"No we're not," his father spat. "You're no son of ours."

Sam glared over at his father until the shock of his mother's voice pulled him out of it. "Boy or girl?" she asked feebly.

"Girl," Sam said, softening his expression as he turned to his mother. "She was born eleven days ago. Her name is Annika Lucy Evans."

"You cannot ruin the name of Evans like that!" his father bellowed.

"For now, we will," Sam seethed. "It's kind of common; nobody will know it's _yours_," he spat the word, "Because I'd never admit to being _your_ child. Mom's, maybe, but not _yours_."

Sam knew it made no sense, but he wasn't mad at his mother. Frustrated with the fact that she just kind of _put up_ with everything, sure, but he couldn't be _angry_ with her. She knew his secret and loved and accepted him for it anyway. "You'll keep it until you go run off with some _faggot_, you mean," his father retorted.

"Yeah, pretty much," Sam shrugged.

"What!" Mr. Evans asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Sam said off-handedly. "I'm seeing someone. A guy."

"The father?" his mother asked hopefully.

Sam turned to her and gave a slight smile, "Yeah, the father. Finn Hudson – remember him?"

She smiled weakly and nodded. "Is Annika with you now?" she asked hopefully.

"No," Sam shook his head. He could see his father glaring at both of them from his place across the foyer. "She's in the hospital until Friday. She was premature."

"Because you're a _freak_," his father spat.

"Shut _up_, dad!" Sam shouted, spinning around to face him. "I get that you don't like this whole mess but that doesn't mean it didn't happen! Mom cares so I'm telling her! You can just stop listening if you don't like it!"

A sickening slap echoed through the house and Sam felt himself falling towards the door with the impact of his father's hand. "Get out of my house," his father breathed, his voice dangerously low.

"I'm sorry, mom," Sam said softly, squeezing her hand before leaving.

He didn't look back as he walked over to the Navigator where Kurt sat patiently. "Go," Sam said as soon as he sat down. "Drive. I want to go home."

"What happened?" Kurt asked, doing as Sam said and driving away.

Sam's hand never left his cheek and he never gave a reply. Kurt kept glancing over, worried, but he didn't press it. Sam went straight to his room when they got home and while everyone wanted to know what had happened, nobody had the courage to ask.

Late that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Sam wandered out into the kitchen for a glass of water. He thought he'd be alone; he hadn't wanted to answer questions and ended up avoiding everyone (and skipping dinner) because of it. That's why when he walked into the kitchen he practically jumped out of his skin at the sight of Finn sitting at the kitchen table. "Hey," he said softly, taking a sip from his mug of warm milk.

Sam didn't answer. He pulled out a glass and started filling it with water. "How's Annika?" Finn asked.

Sam took a drink before wandering over to the table and sitting down next to Finn; it made it easier to avoid eye contact. "She's good," Sam nodded. "They're moving her to the nursery tomorrow; she should be able to come home by Friday."

"Yeah, I remember," Finn said with a smile. "I'm excited."

The corners of Sam's mouth upturned at the thought as well. Neither spoke – they enjoyed each other's company and Sam marveled at the fact that Finn wasn't pestering him about his afternoon. "What happened today?" Finn asked softly.

Never mind. Sam should have known someone would ask about it eventually – it didn't mean he wanted to talk about it, though. He found himself speaking anyway, though. "I went to see my parents," Sam shrugged. "I thought things might be different once she was born."

"Were they?"

Sam sighed and said, "No. Dad hit me. Mom kind of cared, though, but she's too scared of my dad to do anything."

"I'm sorry," Finn replied.

He seemed uncomfortable but he'd gotten Sam to talk and that's what was important. "Do you want to go see Annika without Kurt tomorrow?" Finn asked hopefully.

Sam smiled a little and said, "Yeah. I mean, Kurt's cool, but…"

"She's ours," Finn finished for him with a shrug.

"Yeah," Sam nodded.

They looked at each other for the first time in a while after that, and for once they were both smiling. "Do you want a sandwich or something? You skipped dinner," Finn pointed out.

"I'm starving," Sam admitted.

Finn smiled and walked into the kitchen. "I can only really make grilled cheese – is that okay?" he asked.

"Sounds delicious."

Finn set to work making two grilled cheese sandwiches as Sam watched. He hadn't really noticed how smart Finn really was before. Sure, they were friends (and now they were dating) and sometimes Finn said some smart things, but there was more to it than that. He could take care of a baby. He could play starting quarterback. He could make food.

Sam still had so much more to learn about Finn, and for once, the thought of that didn't scare him. When Finn joined him at the table, Sam thanked him and dug right in to his sandwich. "This is delicious," he said, his mouth still full of food.

Finn laughed and said, "Thanks."

When they were finished, they just kind of sat at the table. Neither wanted to move; the silence was comfortable and they'd missed each other. "Finn?" Sam asked.

"Yeah?"

Sam sighed and leaned over to rest his head on Finn's shoulder. "I'm really sorry I was so mean to you before," he said softly. "I wasn't actually mad at you."

"I know," Finn nodded.

Sam accepted Finn's answer and they sat there for a few more minutes in silence, Sam's breathing tickling Finn's neck just barely, and neither having a problem with it. "We should get to bed," Finn sighed, breaking the moment.

Sam sat up with a sigh and said, "Yeah."

Finn took the plates from the table and set them in the dishwasher. "Thanks for the sandwich," Sam said with a small smile.

"You're welcome," Finn smiled proudly. "Goodnight, Sam."

"'Night, Finn."


	20. Chapter 20

Going to the hospital on Friday afternoon was the most nerve-wracking thing Sam or Finn had experienced in a long while. They'd visited dozens of times since Annika was born, but never to bring her home. The empty car seat sat in the middle of the Navigator, facing backwards, Finn and Sam on either side, their expressions fearful. Kurt drove and Carole sat in the front seat next to him. Burt would have gone with, but some punk kid had vandalized a bunch of cars in a bar parking lot one night and the garage was booked solid.

When they arrived at the hospital, Finn and Sam didn't move. "Come on, boys," Carole said, bemused at their behavior. "It's going to be fine. Let's go get her."

It was all so intimidating. Wrapping her up in the car seat so she'd be safe, signing the discharge papers, final touches on the birth certificate – it was all so official and _scary_. Sam felt a little better on the ride home, if only because Finn was being so overprotective. Kurt took a corner a little too fast and Finn was instantly freaking out that he was going to kill the baby if he didn't drive safer. Sam felt relief in Finn's outburst, even if Carole and Kurt just laughed. Kurt didn't take any corners too fast after that, though.

When Kurt pulled up outside their house, he spotted an unfamiliar car parked on the street outside and asked, "Whose car is that?"

Sam's heart stopped in his chest. "Um…that looks like one my parents drive…" he trailed off slowly.

Panic filled his brain. What if his dad was there? He could hurt Annika and she was still fragile. As they pulled into the driveway, though, he spotted his mother sitting in the front seat of the car, alone. "It's just my mom," he sighed.

"But your parents…?" Finn trailed off, confused.

"Mom was kind of cool with it," Sam offered. "I think she just wants to see her."

"If you're comfortable with it, Sam, she's more than welcome to come inside and spend some time with Annika," Carole told him. "If you're not, though, I can ask her to leave."

"No, she can come in," Sam insisted.

Carole smiled and nodded. It took Finn a few minutes to detach the baby carrier from the base that was buckled in to the back, but when he did, Annika hadn't stirred. She was a heavy sleeper, as far as they could tell, and Carole had pointed out that it was a blessing. Sam's mom walked slowly into the drive. "Hey Sammy," she said softly.

"Hi," he replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

He turned to see Carole, Kurt, and Finn walk inside, Annika's carrier perched protectively on Finn's arm. "Do you want to come meet her?" Sam asked nervously.

He looked up into his mother's eyes to see tears gathering in them. She smiled, overwhelmed, and said, "I'd really like that."

"Come on," Sam said. He pulled her arm through his and led her up the walk. "She's beautiful, mom."

Once inside, Sam led his mother over to the carrier where Finn stood, flabbergasted. "I'm never going to understand this thing," he admitted, fumbling with the buckle.

"You must be Finn," Sam's mom said with a watery smile.

Nervously Finn turned and extended a hand, "Yeah, I'm uh…Sam's…"

"He's my boyfriend," Sam finished confidently.

Mrs. Evans shook Finn's hand and said, "It's nice to meet you."

Ever so slowly Sam lifted Annika from her carrier. He still found it terrifying to be moving her and holding her – every move he made he feared that he was going to break her. Sam's mom turned her attention to the little baby and let out a soft squeal. "She's so beautiful," Mrs. Evans said, wrapping an arm around Sam's shoulders and kissing his forehead.

Awkwardly he shifted his body and asked, "Do you want to hold her?"

"Oh, honey, you just brought her home, don't you want to?" she asked, surprised at his question.

"Mom, just…do you want to?" he pressed.

Mrs. Evans fought tears as she smiled and nodded. This was her granddaughter – in that moment when she scooped little Annika into her arms, she forgot all about her husband and what he'd think of all of this. The little baby girl she was holding was so precious and she wouldn't change a thing about the moment. "How old is she?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Two weeks tomorrow," Sam told her.

She made her way to the couch and sat down. Sam sat next to her and everyone else cleared out of the living room. Softly, Sam asked, "Why don't you just leave dad? You guys aren't happy there, and he's not a nice person."

"Oh, Sammy, it's not that easy," she shook her head. Slowly she reached out to hold Annika's hand between her fingers. "Besides, I can't do that to your brother and sister. Divorces hurt children, Sam, and they don't need that."

"They don't need dad treating them badly, either," Sam pointed out.

"He's fine when they listen," his mother insisted. "When they're out of the house, maybe I'll consider, but I can't do it right now. I…sometimes I get scared of him, too."

Sam rested his head on his mom's shoulder and said, "I've missed you, mom."

"I missed you too, baby," she sighed.

They sat in silence a little longer before she asked, "Can I see Annika? Your father doesn't need to know…"

"I'd like that," Sam admitted.

She turned her head to plant a kiss on his forehead. "I love you, Sam."

"Love you too, mom."

Mrs. Evans visited for a little while longer before she made to leave. She had to get home before Sam's father so he wouldn't get suspicious. "Give us a call whenever you'd like to visit," Carole insisted as Sam showed his mother to the door.

Kurt had taken over holding Annika in the living room; nobody seemed to want to let her go now that she was home. He was singing her some Broadway tune Sam didn't recognize, but he appreciated Kurt's help anyways. Sam gave his mother a big hug before she left. "Well that was interesting," Kurt commented between verses.

"She cares," Sam shrugged. "I'm happy she wants to see Annika."

"I'm happy for you," Finn insisted. "But shouldn't she just leave your dad?"

"Finn!" Carole admonished.

Sam didn't reply. He helped Carole make dinner in the kitchen and Kurt set Annika down in her rocker while they all had dinner. She was a quiet baby and Carole wouldn't stop commenting on it. "You boys are so lucky," she kept saying, and Burt would always agree, adding in that Kurt was _never_ quiet, even as a baby.

"Dad, stop it," Kurt quipped, embarrassed that stories of his infancy were being brought into the mess.

Sam gave Annika a bottle after dinner before lying her down in the crib the way Carole taught him to. They turned on the monitor and Sam and Finn managed to get three quarters of the way through a movie before Annika started crying. Finn had been dozing off so Sam got up to take care of her. He changed her diaper and rocked her back to sleep.

By the time that was all done with, Sam went into the living room to find Finn snoring and the movie back on the title menu. With a sigh, Sam shut off the TV and tried to wake Finn. He was exhausted and now that Annika was asleep again, he was ready for bed. When Finn finally snapped out of his deep sleep, Sam handed him the other end of the monitor and sent him up to bed.

For the first night home, Annika was doing well. She was sleeping peacefully in her crib. Quietly, Sam crawled into bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

But then she woke at 1:30 and needed a bottle.

Barely an hour later, she needed a new diaper.

Then at 3:00 she woke again for no apparent reason.

Sam was about ready to give up. He pleaded silently with her to go back to sleep. She rested calmly in his arms as he tried to get her back to sleep in the rocking chair. Instead she just gazed up at him with innocent blue eyes, almost _begging_ him to try to stay angry at her, because he couldn't.

As soon as he started to doze off, though, all innocence was lost. She started wailing and screaming and it took all of Sam's self-control not to join in and start crying with her because it was _frustrating_. He'd gotten barely three hours of sleep the entire night, and the clock was ticking dangerously close to 4:30 am. Just when the tears were prickling at his eyes, Finn walked in.

He looked tired and like he'd rather be in bed, but instead he was downstairs in Sam's room. "Give her here," he said softly, wandering over to the rocking chair.

"'m fine," Sam insisted sleepily.

"No, you're not," Finn countered. He yawned and repeated, "Give her here."

Sam didn't need to be told again. He lifted his arms and Finn scooped her up. "Go to sleep," Finn told Sam seriously. "You need sleep."

Arguing would have taken energy, and although Sam felt incredibly guilty that Finn had gotten up and gone all the way downstairs to Sam's room just to help with Annika, he let it happen. He curled up under his blankets and watched through drooping eyelids as Finn gently bounced Annika in his arms. He sang a soft melody that put not only Annika, but Sam to sleep as well.

By 5:00 Annika was back in bed, sleeping peacefully. Finn wandered quietly out the door and into the kitchen. "Rough first night, huh?"

Finn practically jumped out of his skin in surprise. He thought everyone else was asleep. "What are you doing up?" he asked Burt, who was sipping at a mug of coffee at the kitchen table. "You don't work on Saturdays."

"Nah, but I get up so early it's just habit to do the same on weekends. I don't think I could sleep in if I tried," he admitted. "You should get some more sleep, though, buddy. You're going to want as much sleep as you can, whenever you get the chance."

Finn frowned and said, "Yeah, I guess."

He made his way towards the staircase, but was stopped in his tracks by Burt's words, "You know, the stairs take an awful lot of work. I'm sure there's somewhere you could sleep down here if you wanted."

Finn's head spun around to look at Burt, but the man was staring at his coffee like it was the most interesting thing in the world to him. Slowly Finn made his way back into Sam's room where Annika was still fast asleep (thank goodness).

Sam was sleeping with his back to the room, curled up right next to the wall. Slowly Finn climbed into bed with him, curling up behind him and snaking his arm around Sam's waist. The blonde shifted slightly in his sleep to snuggle up against Finn.

When they woke several hours later, it wasn't because of Annika's crying – no, instead they woke to her cooing up at her mobile that was hanging above her. Sam let out a small laugh as Finn stretched out his legs. Neither really wanted to move; they were comfortable and Annika was still okay. "'morning," Sam sighed.

He rolled onto his back and looked up at Finn. "Hey," Finn whispered back.

"See this I could wake up to," Sam admitted. "Crying, no, but this…this is nice."

Finn smiled and said, "Yeah, I agree."

"Are we going to be okay?" Sam asked nervously.

Finn looked clueless. "What do you mean?"

Sam sighed and said, "Can we really take care of her and go to school and have friends? I mean, last night was kind of rough."

"I'm sure it'll get better," Finn shrugged. "I mean, I think we can do it."

"I hope so," Sam nodded.

His eyes wandered away from Finn's as his brain was clouded with thoughts of doubt. He wanted to believe Finn, he really did, but part of Sam just _couldn't_. It was a lot to take on and it wouldn't be easy. He'd be up with a crying baby at night and he'd be too tired to care about dancing in glee club and…

Just as easily as Sam's mind was overtaken by his thoughts, it was cleared by Finn's lips on his own. Sam let his eyes flutter shut. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and Finn sighed into the kiss. When he pulled away, he whispered, "Everything will be fine."

Sam gave Finn a lopsided smile and reached up to weave his fingers into the hair on the back of Finn's head. "I know," he smiled, pulling Finn down into a kiss.

Finn responded back eagerly; he'd never felt so _content_ before – at least not as far back as he could remember. He had his daughter, his boyfriend, and it was all going to work out.


End file.
